Even a monster needs a mate
by THE female dog
Summary: With some its love at first sight, but with others, you have to work towards it. Our favourite so called heartless monster has a mate. The problem, she's a different spiecies. What is our Xellos to do? How about ignore the laws of nature and go for it! XD
1. Chapter 1

Dislaimer: Hi, well this is my first fanfic so please be gentle with me, consructive critism is welcome, flames will be laughed at. I do not own the Slayers, I am merely borrowing them for my own enjoyment ^.^

CHAPTER 1

An angry storm had overcome Wolf pack Island, devistating the entire Isle. Huge black clouds covered the sky, putting all into total darkness, the only lightsorce provided by the numerous lightning bolts that terrorized the skies. The occupying population of wolves were left with little choice than to seek shelter at their mistresses' castle near the edge of forest, lest they be stripped from the land by the shear ferocity of the wind, let alone the pelting rain and hail that threatened to give any creatures, brave or foolish enough to not seek shelter, a serious headache or concussion. Whilst things where bad on the outside of the castle walls, a more devastating storm was brewing on the inside, well, on the inside of a trickster priests' private study to be exact.

'Why, why, why, why, WHY?????' Xellos angrily paced his entire study. The usual cheerful mask completely forgotten as he edgily sat down on one of the many cushions positioned around the room.

Images of a certain blonde haired dragon seemed to haunt his thoughts. Those in particular of the time said dragon gave him a surprisingly _genuine_ smile during their final battle with Valgaav/Darkstar.

"ARRG, Stupid dragon! Of all the things to do of all the times, you pick right _then _and _there_ to show me affection? During MATING SEASON!?!?"

It was true, sometime during his travels with Miss Lina and company during the Darkstar campaign, Xellos Metalium had entered _mating season_ for his species. At this time they are susceptible to forming irreversible and unbreakable bonds with a future mate. Although since it is never in a monsters best interest to get into any sort of attachments with another being, aside from their masters, they usually avoid any contact with any other beings, opting instead to hide away and 'wait it out'.

However at the time for Xellos, he found that he couldn't afford to disappear until the end of mating season (which could last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months) during the Darkstar campaign, lest he fail the mission given to him by his Mistress.

"Although" Xellos contemplates with the otherwise empty room, "I really thought that I would've been able to have some control over the urges, so long as none of Miss Lina's group showed me signs of open affection, which is basically the catalyst for the bonding that occurs during a monsters mating season. Never in my thousand of existence did I expect o be given open affection during this small period of time, least of all by HER!"

Xellos ran a hand through his bangs in frustrated confusion. "Why Filia, why? Why smile at me at that instant, you stupid dragon you have no idea how impeccable your timing is"

Xellos sighed, 'then again, I guess I am also to blame for this little predicament, I did let slip that I was in love with her, well not exactly in love with her, more that I was happy she was back to her old stubborn self, hey wait a sec, since when did I start to care at all? The distraught and distant Filia would have been a lot easier to control and manipulate, and yet, I found that I didn't want Filia to be so compliant. I enjoyed the challenge she provided. I grew fond of the unique spark of life and fire in her eyes, especially when it turned into a raging inferno during our little verbal spars, she always gave off a rather addictive flavour when she was mad or flustered.'

Xellos licked his lips seductively at the memory of their many arguments and the delicious rage that his dragon would produce, wait a minute, _his_ dragon? Now where did that come from?

'Well' thought Xellos, 'technically she is _his_ dragon now. Once a monster has made a bond with an intended mate, there is not a force in the world that could break it, it was indestructible, and it was for _life_. And for one such as him, that was a very long time!'

"Well, sitting her brooding about it will solve nothing", Xellos rose from the floor cushions and retrieved his staff from its resting position in the corner of the study. "Time to go pay a certain dragon a visit, but first, I'll make a quick stop along the way" Then before a person could blink, he was gone, and the storm outside the castle settled.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Hi, well this is my first fanfic so please be gentle with me, constructive critisism is welcome, and flames will be laughed at. I do not own the Slayers, I am merely borrowing them for my own enjoyment ^.^

CHAPTER 2

"Thank you so very much, please stay safe and come back soon" Filia just finished tending to her last customer for the day and was waving the elderly woman farewell before closing the shop door and flipping the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

"Phew, what a day, honestly I have never seen one person spend an hour and a half trying to pick between a blue tea set or a green tea set, I mean I did tell her that she could bring it back if it wasn't the right one, but she just wouldn't listen".

Filia quickly shook off the woman's strange actions and went about closing the rest of the store off. She gave every surface a quick dust off and was in the middle of putting her days earnings into the little safe she had under the counter when there was a slight ripple in the air behind her. Filia appeared to not notice that she was no longer alone in the shop, until she thought she heard a chuckle and the voice of one of her least favourite people in the world "My my Fi-chan, I must say this is a rather interesting position I find you in. I'll be honest and say that it's not exactly new for me, that still doesn't lessen the appeal it has".

Filia let slip a gasp and went to stand up and confront the trickster priest and give him an introduction to her mace. At least that was the plan. You see Filia seemed to forget that she was under the counter and smashed to top of her head on the bottom of the counter when she tried to come up too fast. So instead of planting her mace into Xellos's head, she just ended up on the floor again holding her head to try and stop the splitting headache she now had.

"Hahaha, careful Miss Filia, any harder and you would have broken the table, and what good would that do you?"

"More than you ever could namagomi" Filia spat as she rose from the ground, checking her hand for any signs of blood, there was none.

"Such harsh words Fi-chan, and after I went through the trouble of getting you a gift too, such a selfish dragon you are" Xellos chastised her whilst waging a finger at her. It was then that Filia noticed that he had one of his hands hidden behind his back.

"I've told you before stop calling me Fi-chan, and what do you mean _a gift_? Surely anything a monster such as you would consider a gift cannot be good" Filia questioned Xellos. Surely this was some type of sick trick of his to catch her unawares and get a 'free meal' out of her again. Ever since she first met him he has caused her nothing but trouble.

Xellos eye twitched slightly at her accusation, this of course went unnoticed by the dragon maiden. "And so suspicious, do I not deserve at least a small amount of trust? Even after I have saved your life personally in the past?"

Filia hesitated at this question. It was true; Xellos had saved her life in the incident with Valgaav in the cave. To this day she still hasn't figured out why he did though. He had Valgaav right where he wanted him, and yet he gave up the chance for a swift kill to save her from the falling rocks. Now why would he do that?

"Well...that is true, but you're mazoku. Your kind is created to trick and deceive others, and besides even after you helped me back in the cave, you still dropped me from near the ceiling, and that was quite a fall you know, it hurt!"

Xellos just shrugged, "Ah well, that's all in the past now, can't we just let bygones be bygones and move on Filia? Besides aren't you a bit curious as to what your present is?" Xellos raised his eyebrows suggestively. Filia couldn't put her finger on it, but something about that smirk that Xellos had seemed a bit off, although she was curious as to what he got her. Maybe it was a new tea set, or some art supplies, she was running low and could really use some more paint for her vases.

"But you have to close your eyes" Xellos's instruction brought Filia out of her contemplations and looked up at the mazoku to meet his amethyst eyes staring back at her, the sight made her tremble slightly. "Why, why should I?" Filia questioned suspiciously, she was starting to have a bad feeling about where this was going.

"You have to, because it's a surprise, duh! Just close your eyes Fi-chan; I won't hurt you I promise". Xellos gave her the most innocent and harmless smile he could. Filia was still wary, but decided to close her eyes anyway, mostly to just get this over and done with. She was tired and needed to get to bed soon, she had an early start tomorrow; after all she had a shop to run.

After he was satisfied that her eyes where indeed closed, Xellos pulled his gift from behind his back and put on a big chester cat grin and said "alright, you can open them now"

Filia opened her eyes and gasped. Before her was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. The petals where arranged in a long funnel shape until they spread wide at the end. The outside was a deep violet colouration that contrasted beautifully with the yellow that was inside the funnel itself before it blended with the violet exterior. The stem of the flower was a light blue, a very unique characteristic for a flower, but that just made it all the more astounding. Filia was at a loss for words at the sight of this rare beauty. She could not comprehend how such a flower even existed, let alone how Xellos managed to get a hold of one, and why he would be giving it to her in the first place.

"Xellos, it's beautiful. But, why are you giving me this?" Filia questioned, still in aww at the flowers beauty.

"Now that, is a secret!" Xellos gave his trademark wink and finger wag which caused Filia to sweat drop.

"Why am I not surprised? Honestly Xellos. This flower looks extremely rare and probably very expensive. How on earth did you manage to come by it? And why go through the trouble in the first place?" Filia was anxious to know why Xellos would give her such a gift, this was the last thing she expected when he said he had something for her and for once she wanted to find out what his intentions are.

"Yar yar Filia-chan, now that would ruin the mystery now wouldn't it?" Xellos smirked before vanishing in a ripple of air.

"I suggest you head to bed Miss Filia, wouldn't want you to be too tired for business tomorrow now would we?" The disembodied voice floated around her before finally vanishing along with the trickster priest, leaving a very confused dragon holding the violet flower she didn't even remember taking.

She glanced down at the flower and was struck by the need to find a vase and to get some water. She found one of her newly made blue vases decorated with purple vines winding around the body and neck of the vase. It just seemed to fit with the flower, so she added some water to the vase and placed the flower very carefully inside and set it in the middle of her dining room table.

Before heading off upstairs to bed she gave the flower one last look before whispering to an empty room.

"Why Xellos? What are you up to now?"

Xellos was back in his study as he watched his dragon ascend the stairs for a good nights sleep. He couldn't help but chuckle at Filias' last question. Oh the shock if she realized what he was up to. That flower he had given was no ordinary flower, heck the flower wasn't even from earth. It was an extremely rare flower called the Timeless Bloom. This rare bloom only grows in the astral plane itself, which makes locating it quite tricky as the astral plane is somewhat unstable and always changing. What's more is that this flower never withers, never dies, hence the name _Timeless _Bloom. Xellos himself wasn't exactly sure as to why that is so, but he would have to guess it's because like him, it's being exists in the astral plane, and since the astral plane is like a small pocket in the dimension of space and time, it is unaffected by such forces in the physical world. Of course, that was just his guess.

Although what Xellos was smirking at was what he had _done_ to the flower. You see he had put apart of himself into that flower, _literally_. He managed to take apart of his consciousness and infused the flower with it, so now he can keep an eye on his dragon as if he was in the house with her. He would also be able to sense anyone coming in or going out of the house, and if he concentrated enough, even hear what is going on.

This was mostly for _insurance_ as one would put it. Xellos merely wanted to be able to keep an eye on his mate whilst he was away on missions. After all Filia did appear to have a habit of getting herself into rather unusual situations, and one can never be too careful when dealing with a mates safety. Xellos smiled, he was growing quite fond of referring to Filia as _his _mate, the idea seemed to sooth his inner demon that she will be claimed as his own. "Yes my dear Filia, one day I plan to put my mark on you, and you will be _completely_ mine."

"_Xellos, Xellos dear, would you come here please, we need to have a talk, now!"_

Xellos flinched, 'shit! What a way to ruin a moment'. Lord Beastmaster beckoned him to her. 'This is probably not going to be pleasant' Xellos contemplates as he phases away to do the unthinkable, tell his mistress he has a mate.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Hey, me again. I do not own the slayers, if I did then why would I be writing fanfiction? Once again I am still very new to this and truthfully have little to no idea what I'm doing; I'm just kind of winging it. So if the story is no good, please tell me nicely what I can do to improve, thanks! XD

Chapter 3

Xellos had teleported before his Mistress, instantly bowing low in submission. "You summoned me, my mistress?"

"Xellos, I believe you have some explaining to do." Xellos could feel his mistresses stare boring onto the back of his bowed head.

"My lord, may I inquire as to which topic are you referring?" Xellos asked from his bowing position, he dare not rise until his master allows him.

"Do not play games with me Xellos! I'm talking about you being _mated!_"Zelas exclaimed in frustration, glaring at her servant from her cushioned throne.

"Ah, _that_." Xellos was starting to get a bit worried at this point. 'Sounds like she isn't taking it so well'

Zelas let out a small tired sigh, "stand up Xellos, and please inform me of when this happened." Xellos rose from his bow and looked up at his masters' tired expression, one hand pinching the bridge of her nose. "Whilst on my travels with Miss Lina and her group, during the Darkstar campaigned mistress." Xellos explained.

"Sigh, do I really want to know who it is Xellos?" Zelas questioned, she knew that this day would probably come eventually, Xellos did seem to prefer being in the company of humans, and such creatures are at times known for showing affection, She just never expected this to happen so _soon_.

"Is it the Inverse girl? I can see why you might be drawn to her, she does posses a lot of power, but I really didn't see her as the type to show open affection, least of all to you; Maybe the Princess from Seyruun? She always seems to be in a cheerful manner from what you've told me."

"Well you see Mistress Zelas; it isn't Miss Lina or Miss Amelia"

"Well spit it out, who is it?!"

"It's the dragon maiden, Miss Filia" Xellos spoke in almost a whisper, but never the less Zelas herd him and least to say she was certainly surprised...

"THE DRAGON MAIDEN, XELLOS ARE YOU RAVING MAD?!?!"

Alright, maybe shocked and completely off her nutter is a better description

Zelas took a deep, calming breath and relaxed back into her cushions again. "Xellos what am I going to do with you? The dragon maiden, I don't even understand how that is physically possible! I thought she hated you, how on earth did this happen?" Zelas inquired, and so Xellos explained to her the situation in which he mated with Filia.

"I see, interesting." Zelas pondered the situation for a bit. On the one hand, her general priest had committed a form of treason as some could put it, mating with a dragon, and on most occasions any form of treason is punishable by a horrible death. But on the other hand, it did present certain possibilities should the dragon accept the mate mark and join the monster race. And she was the caretaker of the last ancient dragon.

'And also...' Zelas thought to herself with a smirk, 'the whole idea of Xellos being paired with the dragon does sound deliciously blasphemous. And I really don't want to have to destroy one of my favourite servants, beside it takes far too much time and energy to create a new servant, especially when the one I already have is perfectly fine and in working order...somewhat. Hehe, plus it would be quite amusing to watch those two together; maybe this isn't such a bad idea! If nothing else it should at least help to relieve the boredom around here these days.'

"Xellos, I have made a decision" Beastmaster stated with authority.

"Yes Mistress?" Xellos inquired, for some reason the smirk that Zelas had made him somewhat uncomfortable. This type of smirk usually meant that she thought of something she finds quite amusing, although weather he'd find it amusing may be a different book altogether.

"I have decided to allow you and the dragon to live, and I have approved of the mating between you two, but on two conditions."

"Thank you Mistress, and what, may I ask, are the conditions?" Xellos asked. He was both relieved that his mistress approved of the mating, and curious as to what she would ask.

"Number one is basically that you continue being my servant and continuing with your missions as per usual, understand?"

"Yes, of course mistress. And the second condition is?

"This Filia has to accept the mate mark, and she must do so willingly and consciously, so no drugging her or getting her drunk, is that clear?"

"Yes Mistress, such was my intention originally."

"Good, we just might be able to make this work for us. You may go now; I have no further need for you at this time. Go and, visit your dragon or something I don't care, just come back quickly when I call you."Zelas dismissed Xellos with a flipping motion of her hand.

"Yes Mistress and, thank you." Xellos thanked before bowing and vanishing before her eyes.

"Oh no need to thank me Xellos, after all you're the one that's going to provide the entertainment" Zelas chuckled darkly to the now empty throne room. "Yes, and what a show it will be, hehehehe."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Howdy, it's another chappie! I do not own slayers so don't sue me, you wouldn't get much anyway. And on an unrelated note I GOT ACCEPTED INTO EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY! IM SO HAPPY!!! XD

Chapter 4

"_Hello? Is anybody here? Hello?" Filia walked down the deserted hallway. Everything seemed grey and blurry; she couldn't even tell the ground from the walls or the ceiling, it was all just endless grey mist._

"_You're a traitor!" Filia turned all about, but couldn't seem to place the voices that seem to come from everywhere._

"_Who's there? Who are you? How am I a traitor?" Filia questioned the voices, still searching for their origins. _

"_You have associated with a mazoku; you are a traitor to your race!" The voices rang loudly all around her, repeating the same thing. "...associated with mazoku...traitor...vile creatures...impossible...love you...traitor..." It was all Filia could do to cover her ears and sink to her knees on the cold hard ground._

"_No, no, it's not true, please leave me alone, leave me be, please!" Still the voices continued to sound, relentless in their torment of her. She started to feel a pain in her heart. A searing white hot pain as if someone had ripped it from her chest and set it on fire._

"_Please, somebody help me, make it stop, please!" Filia sobbed on the floor. Then amongst the voices she heard a sound. It sounded like a howl. As it steadily grew louder, she realised that it was a howl. And as the howling grew, the voices quietened and the pains in her chest began to lessen until they where no more. And when she finally looked up, Filia saw before her a purple wolf as big as her standing close to her. She looked into the amethyst eyes of the wolf, and suddenly she wasn't sitting on a cold hard surface, but a soft patch of grass with wildflowers all around her and the wolf. When she looked back into the wolfs eyes, she felt a strong sense of safety, as if nothing can hurt her while she was in his presence._

"_Who are you?" Filia asked the wolf. The only answer she got was what looked like a smirk and one last howl from the wolf before she was engulfed in darkness._

* * *

Filia awoke to the sight of her ceiling and the morning rays of sun streaming in through the small gaps in her curtain.

'That dream again, I wonder what it means' Filia turned her head to her right to check on the little basket she kept on her nightstand. She gave a small smile when she saw the shining orb of her adopted son. Val still hadn't hatched yet, so Filia always kept the egg close to her so she could be there when Val finally does decide to hatch and be given his second chance in life. With one final sigh Filia turned away from Val's egg to prepare for the day in the shop. Although when she turned over she came nose to nose with a grinning Xellos lying beside her on her double bed.

"Good morning Fi-chan! Sleep well?" Xellos asked, grin still in place. Filia just lay there like a deer caught in the headlights. After what seemed like hours to the pair, Filia finally showed her first signs of life (discounting her increased heart rate and blush of course ;)) by shrieking so loud that the residence of the inn on the other side of town where rudely awoken to what they thought was a banshee crying right outside their window.

"XELLOS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?! GET OUT!" Filia bellowed. It is clear to see that she was not impressed with the idea of waking up in the morning to find a monster sharing her bed with her.

"Mmhmm" Xellos moaned and tilted his head back onto the pillow slightly. "I must say Filia, you serve such a delicious breakfast in bed, so rich and full of flavour! If this is just breakfast then I can't wait to see what's for lunch!"

Filia blushed at this and managed to push Xellos off the side of her bed, pulling the covers up to hide herself from his closed eye gaze.

"You stupid namagomi! Get out of my room NOW!"

"Alright alright, I'm going" Xellos said as he rose from his position on the floor. "I'll be downstairs when you done up here ok, and I would suggest that you not yell so much when your young dragons egg is in the same room, you'll end up traumatizing the kid before he even hatches!" Was the last thing Xellos said before he phased out of Filias room, narrowly avoiding the pillow that was thrown at him by the angry dragon (it was really the only thing within reach that she could throw other than Vals egg).

"ARRG, stupid Xellos. Who does he think he is sneaking into my room and into my bed, the nerve of him!" Filia ranted as she got dressed for the day and retrieved her mace from her bedside draw and Vals basket. She then made her way downstairs to make herself some breakfast. As she entered her kitchen she spotted her 'bedside companion' sitting at her table as if he belonged there, his staff leaning against the table next to him.

"Ah so your finally done I see, my that took a while I must say." Xellos commented, leaning back into his seat.

"What are you doing here again Xellos?" Filia asked with irritation, today was not turning out to be a good day for her right now.

"Well I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing this fine morning" Xellos answered with his usual cheerful mask in place, seemingly unaware of Filias obvious irritation with him.

Filia set Vals basket down on the table near the flower that Xellos had given her the night before. At the sight of the flower Filia remembered her unanswered questions from that night and became somewhat suspicious that he was back so soon after his last visit. Xellos had visited her in the past, but it was usually a quick visit, then he would leave again and it would be weeks or even months before he showed himself again. This is the first time he's come back within two weeks of his last visit. It was understandable to think that she was somewhat curious and suspicious, why was Xellos spending so much time with her lately? It crossed her mind to ask him, but she had a hunch that she wouldn't get an answer out of him, but still it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Xellos, tell me truthfully, if that's even possible for you, why are you here so soon? Usually when you visit it's a long while before you come back, and yet now your here after barely one night from your last visit. Why are you spending so much time here? I'm sure your mistress wouldn't like you skipping out on your missions" Filia stated with a small amount of disdain creeping into her voice at the thought of what Xellos's missions usually entail.

"Well, usually that is true. But at the moment you see I have received sort of like a day off from my mistress, which gives me the opportunity to complete my own _personal_ mission." Xellos smirked, opening one of his amethyst eyes to stare into her own sapphire ones. Filia found herself uneasy and _exposed_ when he looked at her like that, and fidgeted with her hands under his gaze.

"Well then what is your personal mission?" Filia inquired hesitantly, she was starting to feel very uncomfortable with the way Xellos was eyeing her, like a predator studying his soon to be prey.

Then before she could even blink Xellos was standing right in front of her, his nose almost touching hers. Filia gasped in shock and went to take a step backwards, but the wall was right behind her. Xellos had successfully pinned her so she couldn't get away without going straight through him, and he was just as impenetrable as the wall behind her, maybe even more.

"Hmhm you would like to know like to know that now wouldn't you?" Xellos smirked darkly, both his eyes opened now and staring hungrily into hers. Filias heart seemed like it was going to burst from her chest and she could feel her cheeks flush so red she probably would have put a tomato to shame.

"Xe...Xellos, wha...what are y...you d..?" before Filia could finish her question Xellos had pinned her further by caging her against the wall with his hands on either side of her arms and brought his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent, engraving it into his memory whilst also getting a taste for her erratic emotions.

"Mmm, I must say Filia if only you knew what your emotions tasted like, it is so very addictive" Xellos hummed in her ear. Filia felt her heart jump to her throat, making her forget to breath as Xellos continued to sniff her neck and hair. Throughout this whole incident though, Xellos had not touched her _once_. However that was not the cause of Filias inner turmoil, no, the cause was because even though her mind was screaming at her to push him away and beat him senseless, a small part of her wanted to keep him here, _wanted _him to touch her, for her to wrap her arms around him, this brought about fear in Filia, fear of what she was feeling.

Whilst Filia was dealing with her inner conflict, Xellos was greatly enjoying the feast she was giving him, anxiety, embarrassment, slight fear and something else, something very faint and very deep, but still there, 'I see, interesting.'

"Tell me Filia, is that fear I sense from you? I know it's not directed at me, you where never afraid of me where you? Even when we first met you never once showed fear. You where not a naive dragon, you knew who I was and what I was capable of, yet you still had the courage or the stupidity to actually be _angry_ at me, even go as far as to call me namagomi, and even now you do not fear me, no you fear something else _related _to me, but not me personally. You never have and I doubt you ever will fear _me_, so tell me Fi-chan, what is it that you fear?" Xellos purred in her ear before bringing his face to hers, still never touching her.

As soon as Xellos's eyes met with Filias again, she lost the will to speak. She started to feel light headed and remembered that she still hadn't taken a breath yet. She finally breathed in life giving oxygen and stared back into his eyes. She couldn't quite remember but there was something familiar in his eyes. Something that both made her feel safe and calm, and also caused the butterflies she now had go ballistic inside of her.

"Hmhm, I see, how very intriguing" Xellos chuckled, finally stepping back and releasing Filia from her imprisonment. He closed his eyes again and returned his usual trickster smile and retrieved his staff. "I will be heading off now Filia, but rest assured I will be back, until then." And with that, Xellos disappeared, leaving Filia to crumple to the ground where he had left her.

'What is going on? What's happening to me? Why do I feel like this? My heart is still pounding from how close he was, and the scariest thing is that a part of me actually enjoyed it, oh Ceiphied, what is going on around here?!' Of course, no one was there to answer her questions.

It was a short while later that Filia managed to pick herself up from the floor and go about her usual morning routine. However with the incident with Xellos still fresh in her mind, she found it extremely hard to concentrate on what she was doing, when she went to make her tea, she used salt instead of sugar and ended up in a fit of sputtering. Her day didn't go so well either, she was constantly getting distracted and at times completely zoning out whilst she was talking to her customers; she even broke a few of her own vases because she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. In fact the only thing her mind seemed to focus on was Xellos and his strange behavior, as well as the strange sensations that he caused her. She spent the whole day pondering how and why he invoked such feelings within her, and most importantly, what they meant.

At the end of the day and a few more broken vases later Filia finally managed to close the shop and prepare herself for bed. After she set Vals egg in her room she retreated to take a nice long bath, she didn't know why but she had a sense that someone was watching her the whole day and so she felt the need to be clean to rid herself of the feeling. As she soaked in her tub she went back to questioning Xellos's actions, but no explanation came to mind. She finally decided that she was not going to get any answers tonight and retired to bed. As she hopped under the covers and settled for sleep, her thoughts began to wonder back to the mysterious priest, for that was who he was, _mysterious_. Every time she thinks she knows him, he'll show her a side of him she never knew existed that will throw her completely back into the dark again and then she's back to square one.

"Xellos, what are you doing to me" was the last conscious thought she had before sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

"Well that was an interesting turn of events" Xellos stated to the empty study as he leaned back into his cushions.

"Truthfully I wasn't expecting the reaction or the emotions I got from her this morning, not until a later date at least. I was expecting her to try and murder me with her mace for getting that close, my Filia you are a strange one sometimes."

Xellos laid flat down on his pillows with his hands behind his head looking up at the ceiling, still thinking about the morning's activities. 'I must say though, it took all my concentration not to put my mark on her right then and there, she was just so tempting, and the cocktail of emotions she released didn't exactly help the matter either'

Xellos smirked to himself, he had to confess that Filia was like his own private drug and he was a life addict, one taste and he was hooked. And the effectiveness of the addiction only seemed to increase after he bonded with her, now it seems that simply being in her presence or even thinking about her made him crazy.

-sigh-"if I can't get her to accept my mark and soon, these urges will send me insane and I'll end up marking her by force, and I don't think she or my mistress will be pleased if that happens"

This was one of the downside of being bonded, if a monster can't get his mate to accept their mark, it usually drives them mad and they eventually mark them by force anyway, that is if they didn't kill themselves in their madness first, even then if the marking is not done properly, it could be fatal for the one being marked and possibly the marker too. However that is an extreme case and has never actually happened to any ones recollection, so Xellos figured that as long as he kept his sanity (if you could call it that) in check and persuaded Filia to accept him, he should be fine. And anyway he didn't think that it should take that long for her to accept the mark, especially after what this morning has shown him.

"Very soon Filia, very soon indeed."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Howdy pplz! Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with work and family and some other stuff to do with life but I'm back ^^. I do not own the Slayers, heck but I would sure love too! Anyway on with the story! Please don't forget to review at the end please, I'll be reminding you later to make sure, so, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

"Xellos, report"

"Yes mistress, Ragnu and Belsar are now in place and have gained the trust of the young lord Trogen, it is only a matter of time now before the city of Elmsar is in our power."

"Excellent, and the old priest?"

"Soon to be dealt with, come afternoon tomorrow we will not have to deal with his interference any longer."

"Perfect, when the young Trogen inherits Elmsar, we will hold the true authority from behind the ignorant fool, things seem to be working out rather well for us, don't you think?" Zelas commented, taking a long drag from her cigarette, looking down at Xellos's prostrate form.

"I do believe so my mistress, and I must say, gaining control of one of the world's largest suppliers of wheat was a rather clever move."

"Ha-ha. Of course it was dear, after all the wheat is used in 95% of the world's food. Control the wheat, you control the peoples food supply, control their food supply, and you control them, and all without leaving too much of a mess and not getting our hands too dirty." Zelas chimed, an air of triumph around her.

"Indeed, humans seem to become increasingly compliant when the notion of their food supply is brought into the picture, it's amazing sometimes what you can get people to do for a sack of wheat that you couldn't get them to do for two bags of gold." Xellos stated with a slight awed look on his face, at this thought he was reminded of a certain red head and her obvious obsession for the two areas of income.

"Hmhm, I will admit that that notion reminds me of Miss Lina and her affinity with both food and money, I wouldn't put it past her to blow up a whole town if money was involved, possibly a city if a banquet was added to the equation." Xellos reminisced, a slight chuckle escaping him as he explored all of Miss Lina's strange and outrages behaviours.

"Ah yes, speaking of Miss Lina and her group, how are things going with you and your pet dragon my dear Xellos? Is there much progress in that area?"

"It's hard to say mistress." Xellos replied, his usual grin somewhat forced. "I sense that she does feel some small amount for me, but the thing is that at this time it is still very small and very deep, and I regret to say that it is becoming somewhat of a...hindrance...for me to keep my inner self in check, especially around her." Xellos confessed, a small amount of embarrassment slipping into his demeanour.

"I imagine it would be, particularly for_ you_ dear Xellos." Zelas commented distractedly. "You are so used to being in control that the moment you feel that control lapsing, I dare say you don't know how to handle it now do you?" Zelas smirked darkly to herself. "Poor unfortunate Xellos," Zelas sung, "who was once my most reliable servant during the war of the monster fall, now can't even control himself in the presence of a simple dragon girl for more than a day, ha-ha, the very idea would be highly amusing, if I wasn't concerned that your delay in marking the girl might cause your mind to slip at a crucial moment." Zelas said, narrowing her eyes at her general-priest. "I strongly suggest Xellos that you pull yourself together and act soon, before you outlive your usefulness." Zelas said, staring down her nose at the now slightly uncomfortable Xellos, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Yes mistress, it's just that, the situation is a tad complicated..."

"Nonsense Xellos, it's only as complicated as you make it out to be, now go, you are dismissed."

"Yes mistress" Xellos said before teleporting out of his mistress's throne room.

"Oh, I do hope he sorts himself out soon, I really don't want to have to destroy him because he's completely lost it, after all that would be a complete waste of energy for me, and I do hate to waste energy." Zelas mused, taking another drag from her cigarette.

* * *

_Meanwhile, at Filia's shop…_

Today was a bright sunny day. The street outside was bustling with people going about their daily lives. Filia was as usual inside her workshop designing a batch of vases a customer had asked her to custom make. The customer in question gave Filia some very specific instructions as to how he wanted the vases to look. There where four vases, each shaped into the form of an hourglass and with two intricate handles down either side.

Each vas was to represent one of the four seasons. The spring Vase was to be painted green and decorated with a variety of flowers in full bloom. The summer vase was going to be yellow with an orange sun and the lower half decorated with green and brown grass blended together. Autumn was to be a blend of red and orange and a design of leaves of the fall blowing in an invisible wind around the body. Finally the winter vase was to be painted blue with the illustration of a blizzard occupying most of the body.

Filia had recently finished painting the spring and summer vases, and was now in the process of completing the autumn vase. However it would still be a while before she painted it as she still had to fire it in the kiln for a while.

While Filia was down in the workshop, Jilas and Gravos had stopped by and where up in the pottery shop looking after the store for her, so that she could complete her task without having to run the store at the same time.

In the beginning Jilas and Gravos had lived with Filia and the egg, but after two months the pair had decided to move out and take up their own residence further into the town, saying that while Filia's home was cosy, it was just too crowded for their liking. Also the fact that Filia would lose her temper every time Jilas blew up a portion of her yard experimenting with new explosive mixtures for his bombs might have encouraged the fox man further to look for a new home. As for Gravos, he just found Filia's home simply too small for someone of his big build, so he decided to accompany Jilas out of the home.

Now the two stopped by every couple of days to help Filia run the shop while she was either making new pottery to sell, or if she had an errand to run during business hours. Otherwise she was left alone with the house, the shop and Val, not that Val was much of a problem while he was still an egg.

"There, finally done" Filia said to herself. She had just finished putting the finishing touches to the autumn vase, and was now putting it in the kiln to fire. After she was satisfied that the kiln was doing its job properly, she gathered up Val's basket and headed up to make herself some tea and lunch before she started on the winter vase.

When she got to the kitchen, Filia set the basket on the table and set about making herself some tea and salad sandwiches. That done and when the kettle had boiled she sat down t the table and started on her lunch. While she was eating one of her sandwiches she looked up towards Val's basket and caught sight of the flower Xellos had given her, still sitting in its vase on the table near where she had put Val.

The sight of the flower caused Filia to stop eating her lunch and she started pondering Xellos yet again. It had been a few weeks since his last visit and Filia could not help but wonder what he was up to right now.

"Probably nothing good if I know him" Filia thought out loud. 'Then again, I don't think I know him as well as I thought I did. He has been acting very strange lately.' Filia thought back to the incident with Xellos in her kitchen, the memory still gave her shivers.

She shifted her focus back to the flower and realized something that made her start a little. The flower still looks the same as the day Xellos gave it to her. Now she may not be an expert on the matter, but she was sure that it was not normal for a flower to last this long without any signs of withering. Filia picked up the flower and studied it more closely. Other than its unique appearance, there was something 'off' about the flower that Filia couldn't quite put her finger on.

'Maybe it's foreign from this land' Filia thought to herself.

"Ah I know, tomorrow I'll take it down to the local florist and ask him if he knows what it is, old Charlie knows just about every bloom under the sun, and maybe he can tell me what I need to know." Filia smiled to herself for her brilliant idea and set the flower back on the table, making her way with Val to the shop to ask Gravos and Jilas to look after the shop for her tomorrow.

When she entered the shop she found it empty except for Jilas who was dusting and cleaning the pottery and Gravos who was sitting at the counter reading the town paper.

"Gravos, can I ask a small favour from you and Jilas?" Filia asked sweetly, placing Val's basket on the counter.

"Sure, no problem. What did you have in mind?" Gravos asked, putting the paper down to look at Filia.

"I was just wondering if you and Jilas could come in tomorrow and look after the shop again. I've got a small errand I need to run in town and I need someone to keep an eye on the shop while I'm gone. Do you think you could do that for me?" Filia asked while Jilas was walking over to listen.

"Why sure, no problem boss. Me and Gravos 'ere wouldn't mind lookin' af'er the place for a bi'. Where're ya goin' tomorrow boss?" Jilas inquired, a friendly smile on his face.

"Just to the local florist, I need to ask Charlie about something, I planned on leaving around noon, so I shouldn't be gone that long and we hardly get that many customers in here until two hours past noon, so it shouldn't be that busy." Filia replied.

"No problem Miss Filia, you can count on us" Gravos said cheerfully, giving her a thumbs up.

"Thanks you two, I really appreciate your help." Filia smiled to her friends.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, a cloaked figure with golden eyes was walking by a pottery shop and took a look inside the window. He saw a fox-man and a giant lizard conversing with a blonde woman behind the counter with a basket situated close by. When the figures eyes landed on the basket, they let out a surprised gasp and proceeded to run back down the street they just came from, disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Authors comment.

So? How was it? Please don't forget to review, and I have a question I need to ask that I need the answer to or I'm gonna have troubles with upcoming chapters. Ok if something happens to Filia's wings while she is in dragon form, say anything from a sprained wing to total amputation and everything in between, how would it affect her human form? Please review and give me a few ideas please, I'm really stuck on this ok? Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Howdy, ok so this is a really looong chapter, and just a warning, it is because of this chapter that the rating has gone up due to graphic violence, so if you don't like that stuff, just skip past it. Don't forget to review, THANKS XD/

Chapter 6

The room was brightly lit with an invisible light source. All the walls where bare and that of pure white. The pillars supporting the high ceiling and skylight, where also that of pure white. At the end of the room was an impressive throne seemingly to be made of gold and emitting its own heavenly glow.

In the throne sat a man clothed in robes of white with gold trimmings, pointed ears proudly displayed outside a head of pale golden hair that came to his shoulders. Stern golden eyes peered down the pointed nose of the man at the bowed form of a hooded figure in front of him.

"Are you positive of what you saw Estar?" The figure spoke, his voice ringing with authority.

"Most definitely Great Elder. I saw it with my own eyes, the green shell and aura was unmistakably that of an ancient dragon" the figure now known as Estar replied, his voice portraying his confidence in his discovery.

"Very well, this calls for immediate action, gather two of our brothers, we will solve this problem by tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes Great Elder, as you command." Estar then arose and left the throne room.

* * *

The sun had already risen in the city of Elmsar. Xellos was seated on a rooftop overlooking the city's temple near the palace. His left leg was sticking out while his right leg was bent up to his chest with his right arm resting across it. His closed eye gaze fixed on the entrance to the temple, watching, and waiting.

It was an hour before noon when an elderly man dressed in priests attire, finally exited the building. He had planned to go for an evening stroll to relieve some of the stresses on his mind. Xellos watched the priest intently as he rounded the corner. He then summoned his staff to his side, his bangs shadowing his eyes.

"Well, time to go to work" He smirked before vanishing into the astral plane.

* * *

"Ok, I'm going now guys, I'll be back soon."

"Oh, Miss Filia, while you're out, could you pick us up some snacks please?" Gravos asked as Filia was walking out the door with Val's basket, the flower nestled beside the egg, still in its vase.

"Sure, it can be my thank you for minding the shop while I'm out. Did you have anything in mind?" Filia asked, smiling warmly at the pair.

"I'll jus' 'ave a beef pie thanks boss" Jilas said from beside Gravos.

"And I'll just take a hotdog with everything on it if that's ok" Gravos replied.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to eat all that Gravos?" Filia inquired puzzled.

"Of course Miss Filia, after all I am a big guy, and big guys need plenty of food to keep us going you know" Gravos stated, standing straighter and puffing out his chest.

"Ha-ha, of course Gravos. After all we wouldn't want you wasting away on us now would we?" Filia said humorously, walking out into the street and closing the door behind her.

It was an hour before noon and the streets where really stating to fill up with people going about their own business. Filia took a breath of fresh air and made her way down the street. The local florist was further in town and was about 45 minute walk, depending on how busy the streets where.

On her way down the street, Filia passed many stores and their owners shouting out into the crowd, selling their wares and haggling over prices. The whole time Filia walked with a smile on her face. There where a few times where she wanted to stop and browse a few of the stalls on her way, but she decided against the idea. She didn't want to be gone too long, and if she stopped to window shop she would quickly loose track of time. So she powered through the crowd and eventually made it to Charlies Florist in only 30 minutes.

Filia entered the shop and looked around. There where flowers of every bloom decorating every corner of the shop, small pot plants hanging from the ceiling, and towards the rear of the shop, there was a small counter with a cash machine and an elderly man with warm eyes and a welcoming smile standing to the side of the machine, the entire wall behind him filled with shelve stacked with different seed packets and plant nutrients.

"Why hello Miss Filia, what a lovely day we have today don't you think?" The elderly man asked, his smile warm and trusting.

"It is a very fine day today Charlie. How goes business?" Filia asked politely, smiling friendly at old Charlie.

"Oh same old same old, the occasional young couple or travelling artist looking for something pretty, is there something I can do for you today?" Charlie said, now leaning on the counter.

"As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you could do me a small favour, you see I have with me a rather peculiar flower that doesn't seem native to these parts, and I was wondering if you could tell me what it is?" Filia inquired, walking up to the counter and taking the vase with the flower out of Val's basket.

"I'll see what I can do. Pass it here and let me have a look" Charlie said, taking the vase from Filia.

Charlie removed the flower from the vase and studied it intently, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He gently felt the texture of the stem and petals and sniffed the bloom, his face changing from concentration to confusion. "Golly Miss Filia truly a very unique flower, I've never seen anything like it, I apologise, but I don't have the slightest idea what it is, but I sure would love to find out, it is quite a beauty." Charlie said, now admiring the flower while slowly twirling it in his hand.

"If I may inquire Miss Filia, how did you come into possession of such a bloom?" Charlie shifted his gaze to Filia's blushing face. "Was it perhaps a gift from a charming suitor?" Charlie grinned knowingly at Filia's flushed face.

"What? No no no, i..it was just a fr..friend of mine, h..he stopped by my shop and gave it to me a while ago, I swear there is nothing between us" Filia started, her face going more flushed by the second. Charlie gave her a knowing wink.

"Sure it was Miss Filia" He placed the flower back in its vase and handed it to her. "Well, I'm sorry I couldn't help you more, was there anything else you needed today?" Charlie asked.

"No, that was it, but thank you for having a look at it anyway, I really do appreciate it" Filia said politely as she gathered the vase and placed it back in the basket, beginning to exit the store.

"Any time Miss Filia. Have a nice day, take care"

"Same to you Charlie, and thank you" Filia called back as she left the store. –Sigh- "well that was a little disappointing; I really thought Charlie might be able to give me some answers. Oh well, no use brooding over it." Filia then started back into town to get Jilas and Gravos their snacks before she headed home. Along the way four hooded figures started following Filia at a distance. At first Filia didn't notice them and continued on her path into town. But eventually the figures started to close in on Filia.

It was then that Filia noticed she was being followed and quickened her pace. However as she quickened her step, they also hastened their steps to match her own. She ended up in a jog going down twisted pathways and turning which ever way to try and lose her pursuers. She then started to speed up and ran around another corner, almost running into a brick wall, a dead end.

Filia spun around to footsteps behind her; she saw the four hooded figures standing behind her, blocking her only exit.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Filia demanded, anger and fear creeping into her voice.

One of the middle two spoke "I am Lortus, Supreme Elder of the Earth Dragon King, and what we want, is that egg you carry in that basket."

* * *

Xellos had tailed the priest on his stroll through the town, waiting until he was alone. Half an hour into the stroll, the old priest turned down a few side roads for a little change of scenery from the bustling streets.

'Ha-ha, big mistake you old fool' Xellos smirked darkly to himself, following the priest down the nearly deserted street.

The old priest began to feel somewhat uncomfortable. He felt like he was being watched very closely, and decided to cut his walk short and began to hasten through the streets, trying to find his way back to the temple. Unfortunately the priest had never been down these roads before, and quickly became lost in the twists and turns of the suburban maze.

As soon as he realized that he was lost, the priest began to panic, running wildly down every which turn, trying to find his way back to a public setting. But alas, his efforts where futile, and Xellos, who was slowly gaining on his prey, was relishing in the fear and panic that the priest was emitting, greedily feeding of him like a starving man would on a feast.

"Run-run all you want, but you can never escape your fate" Xellos disembodied voice sounded as though it was coming from all around the priest.

"Who said that? Who are you?" The priest demanded, spinning around trying to find the origin of the voice.

"Ha-ha, it's always the same questions. 'Who are you? What are you? Why are you doing this to me?'" (I borrowed this quote off Twilight, I don't own)

"Who said that? Show yourself!" The priest said, fear clearly evident in his voice and quivering form.

"Very well, if you insist." Xellos then appeared in front of the terrified priest. "Is this better for you?" Xellos asked darkly, his bangs still shadowing his eyes.

The priest let out a shriek of horror and ran as fast as he could away from the monster. Xellos decided to let the priest run for a bit before pursuing him. After all, Xellos did love to play with his food.

* * *

"W-What?" Filia asked in shock, holding the basket closer to her body protectively.

"The egg, hand it over peacefully and we will leave you in peace" The one named Lortus spoke, holding his hand out to take the egg.

"B-But why Great Elder? He is but an egg; he hasn't done anything, why do you want him?" Filia asked, backing away a step.

"You foolish girl. It's not what he has done, it's what he can and will probably do. He is too dangerous to let live. If he lives and we let him become more powerful as he gets older, he will put the entire world in jeopardy. That is why his kind was eradicated in the first place, they posed too much of a threat to the world. Therefore it is our duty as protectors of this world to destroy every last one of his kind, so that the world may remain safe. If you hand us the egg, its destruction will be swift and we will avoid a great calamity to the world" Lortus said, advancing on Filia slowly with the other three following closely behind.

"You're wrong, the ancient dragons where never a threat to the world. They where a peaceful race that you massacred because they wouldn't join you in The Great War. Val is not even a new born and I don't understand why you have to kill him for something he hasn't even done yet!" Filia argued, slowly backing away until she hit the wall behind her. 'Damn it!' she thought, 'this is not good'.

"Grrr, it is not your place to speak in such matters that you know nothing about! Now hand us the egg or we will have to resort to extreme measures." Lortus was becoming angry now; evidence in his clenched fists and raised voice.

"You'll never lay a hand on him!" Filia yelled, transforming into her dragon form and taking to the skies, Val's basket safely tucked in her arms.

"COME BACK HERE!" Lortus yelled after her as he and his companions transformed and initiated the chase of the younger dragon.

* * *

The priest was running as fast as he could, completely consumed by fear. But no matter how many alleys he turned down, he could not shake his pursuer, and Xellos was slowly but surely gaining on him.

The priest turned down yet another alley way, only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of the purple haired monster standing before him.

"Hello there, have we met?" Xellos humoured darkly as the priest screamed and ran back out the alley and down the street again. He turned another corner, and yet again Xellos was there, staff in hand and an evil smile on his face.

"Honestly how long do you plan to keep this up? You should know by now that you can't run from me"

The priest turned around again and went back the way he came. He turned down another corner, only this time he wasn't confronted with Xellos, but rather a dead end. Someone chuckled behind him.

"Looks like you've got nowhere else to run old man." The priest turned around quickly and there was Xellos. His eyes fully open and fixed on the quivering form of the priest. To the priest, the look in his eyes was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen.

"I regret to say that whilst this has been an amusing game, it must stop here, after all, all good things must come to an end. Isn't that right old priest?"

The priest screamed.

* * *

Filia flew as fast as she could, the rushing wind almost deafening her to her surroundings. But no matter how fast she flew, the dragons chasing her flew faster. They started firing laser breaths at her which she barely managed to dodge. She sped along the country side, twisting and twirling, trying to avoid the waves of laser breaths on her tail, she even shot back a few of her own, but to no avail.

She decided to try and head into higher altitudes to lose them in the cloud cover, but no matter what she did, they where always right behind her.

Finally, despite all her efforts, one of the dragons gained on her and fired a laser breath directly at her wings.

There was a distant chime of a far off clock striking twelve

Filia's wings where hit. She screamed.

* * *

Xellos pointed his staff at the priest, intent on finishing his mission here and now. The priest begged for his life. Xellos smirked.

The clock struck twelve. Xellos fired. The priest gave one final scream.

Xellos laughed.

The priest was dead.

* * *

Pain. It was all that Filia's mind could register, the blinding pain. Followed by a feeling of free fall. She crash landed in a dieing field, more rocks and empty barren spaces than plant life. Val's basket still tucked under her dragonic arms, shielding it from the impact of the fall.

Filia looked back, her left wing was a bloody, gory mess, and half of it was missing, the freshly severed end smoking from the impact.

She looked up to the sounds of wing beats, her four attackers circled and landed in front of her. Lortus spoke. "You brought this on yourself young one, now I will ask only one more time. Give us the egg, and we will heal you and leave you in peace, however if you defy us, we will have no choice, but to obliterate you along with the ancient egg. What is your choice?"

Filia was panting. She was badly wounded and exhausted from the high speed chase. With as much strength as she could gather, she held Val's basket tighter to her body. A single tear rolled down her face. She forced her head up and looked directly into The Great Elders eyes.

"I will NEVER let you harm Val, you MURDERER!"

"Then your fate is sealed" was all Lortus said before he and his three companions gathered their power for a final combined laser breath that would surely incinerate both her and Val's egg. She curled her neck around her arms and Val, her final whispered words where "Val, I'm so sorry."

* * *

_Meanwhile._

Xellos's eyes where wild as he reviled in his kill. The excitement of death never losing its touch. And the pain he was feeding off was making his blood run hot.

'Wait. What?' Xellos started, the priest was killed instantly by his blast, and yet he is still sensing a great amount of pain and fear. He stretched out his mind to find the source. What he found caused him to freeze.

"IT'S FILIA!" Xellos quickly searched out his consciousness inside the flower he had given Filia. 'She's not at the house, the surroundings don't match up. There are four others with her.'

"Dragons" Xellos said, acid dripping in his voice. He put all his concentration into the part of him in the flower, he could hear a voice.

"…will ask only one more time. Give us the egg, and we will heal you and leave you in peace, however if you defy us, we will have no choice, but to obliterate you along with the ancient egg. What is your choice?"

during this whole speech, Xellos's eyes had bled from amethyst to blood red, his inner demon snarling and clawing its way out, wanting to rip the offending dragons to shreds. Then Xellos herd Filia speak.

"I will NEVER let you harm Val, you MURDERER!"

"Then your fate is sealed"

Xellos then sensed a large amount of energy being gathered, he knew straight away what they where doing.

'They're going to KILL HER' was the last conscious thought before Xellos phased out, desperately tracing Filia's location.

"FILIA!"

* * *

"FILIA!" A scream of pure desperation and rage filled the area as the four dragons let fire to their quadruple laser breath attack. However a split second before impact, a powerful shield had deflected the attack away from Filia and Val. When the smoke finally cleared and the dust settled, Filia and the four dragons looked to see a very pissed of Xellos floating between Filia and her attackers, his blood red eyes glowing through his bangs.

"Xe..Xellos" Filia spoke. Xellos snapped his head in her direction. At the sight of her physical state, Xellos let out a low, murderous growl towards the four dragons.

'That was way too close, a nanosecond later and she would have been obliterated' Xellos then noticed her wing.

"You will all pay dearly for what you have done to my dragon, although I must say, I almost feel sorry for the one that took her wing off. Almost." Xellos said in an eerily calm voice, eyeing each of the dragons in turn. The one on the far right whimpered slightly at Xellos's comment and moved slightly to stand behind his neighbour. Xellos spotted him and turned to fix his gaze on the cowering dragon.

"You! By the time I'm done with you I'll have you begging me to kill you, that is if there is much of you left to kill" Xellos said darkly, a low growl sounding at the back of his throat.

"Filia! Has your betrayal to your race gone so far as to align yourself to the monster race!?" Lortus spat, showing both rage at Filia, and fear for Xellos.

In a split second Lortus was hit square in the chest by a dark energy blast that sent him flying a hundred meters away and crashing harshly on his back into the side of a large nearby rock, the only thing that was stopping his flight.

Xellos growled. "Don't you DARE speak to her again, you don't even deserve too look at her. Here, let me fix that for you." Xellos then appeared in front of the dragons face, a finger pointed at each of his eyes, and then with a well calculated energy blast, Xellos incinerated the dragons' eyes, blinding him beyond repair. Lortus screamed as blood poured from his now empty eye sockets.

Xellos then appeared in front of a second dragon. A well aimed strike of his staff stabbing the dragon right through his heart, killing him almost instantly.

The third dragon was attempting to conjure up a laser breath to combat the monster. But by this time Xellos had let loose his inner demon, and he was not taking prisoners. He muttered a quick spell and with a swipe of his staff, split the poor dragon clean in two, the remains exploding with the unfinished laser breath.

Finally Xellos came to the last dragon. He purposely left this dragon until last, as it was the same dragon that injured Filia's wing.

"Now to deal with you" Xellos grinned evilly. The dragon panicked and made to take flight and escape the wrath of the monster, but his efforts where hopeless. The moment his wings where open, Xellos teleported and grabbed one with his bare hands and tore it away from the dragons' body. The dragon roared in agony, his pain only intensifying when Xellos blasted the other wing off with an energy blast. The stumps of the now wingless dragon where spurting blood, Xellos became covered in the dragons' blood and gore, and he enjoyed every minute of it. The pain and fear and anger he was feeding off was making him wild.

'Time to end this.' Xellos then sliced the dragons' arms and legs off, letting the now gory torso and head of the dragon fall to the earth. Screams of agony filled the surrounding area as Xellos descended to the immobile dragon. He chuckled darkly as he muttered a silencing spell, making the dragons roars mute. Xellos then turned his attention to the now blind Lortus who was desperately holding his face trying to stop the pain.

"It was a foolish thing to attack what is mine dragon. And I must say that I am rather disappointed that four adult male dragons would gang up on one small female dragon. Has the dragon race really sunk so low?" Xellos said, disgust in his voice.

"What our methods are, are none of your concern monster" Lortus shot back as he aimed a laser breath to where he heard Xellos's voice come from.

Xellos smirked and phased out of the way, leaving behind the immobile dragon in the direct path of the attack. Just before the attack hit, Xellos removed the silencing spell, so that Lortus could hear his fellow dragons' last final scream before he was incinerated by the blast.

Absolute horror overcame Lortus as he recognised his comrades dieing roar. To add to his grief, Xellos's disembodied voice sounded from all around Lortus. "Tsk tsk, you would even go as far as to destroy your own comrades. If this is your idea of protecting the world, then I can't help but wonder what it would be like if you wanted to take over the world. Ever think of joining the monster race yourself? I'm sure you'll fit right in."

Lortus roared in agony and outrage, Xellos's comment sending him over the edge and into insanity.

'Hmm, probably should put him out of his misery now, or he might end up hurting Filia again' Xellos thought to himself as he attacked from the astral plane, sending an energy blast straight at Lortus's head, completely destroying it and letting the now decapitated body slump to the ground in what would be described as a sickening crash 'n' splash as he landed in a puddle of his own blood.

Xellos grinned, his head still buzzing with the thrill of the battle. He felt so invincible, so alive!

He heard a groan; Xellos whirled around and saw Filia still in her dragon form, unconscious. 'Shit' Xellos flew to her side; she was alive, but barely.

'Shit, I can't believe I forgot about Filia, STUPID!' Xellos scolded himself. "I wonder how much of the battle she saw before she blacked out." Xellos thought out loud. He really hoped she didn't see too much. She would probably end up hating him even more than she already does. 'Hate I can deal with, but if she ends up fearing me, I don't think I'll be able to live with myself.'

Xellos then grabbed the Basket containing Val's egg and the flower, and placed a hand on Filia's dragonic hand, and teleported them away from the bloody battlefield.

'Please let her be alright.'

* * *

Authors comment.

So? Was it ok? I really can't believe I wrote that. Never get me to write a story after 15 hours of work on 5 hours sleep, BECAUSE CRAZY S#T LIKE THIS HAPPENS! The rating definitely just went up on this fic, honestly I made myself edgy and almost sick writing it, so I hope it was good, please lemme know, K. XD


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Howdy again! You know the drill, I do not own Slayers, I just like to play around with their lives XP. Please don't forget to review, it's what gives me the motivation to write, to me it's like a steak dinner for a starving man, so please, REVIEW!!

Chapter 7

Zelas was comfortably lounging in her throne when her general-priest teleported before her with the dragon maiden and basket in hand. Zelas's first reaction was to sit up slightly in surprise at the sudden intrusion. "Xellos…"

"Mistress Zelas, I humbly beg for your help." Xellos spoke in a rush, his dishevelled appearance and blood soaked cloths giving Zelas a vague idea of what happened. She rose from her throne and briskly made her way to Xellos's side.

"Why did you bring her here Xellos? Of all places to take a wounded dragon you bring her into monster country?" Zelas had to admit that this was not one of the smarter things that Xellos has done.

"Forgive me mistress, but this was the safest place I could think of to bring her." Xellos said, bowing his head in apology.

"Hn, so the safest place for a golden dragon would be in the heart of a monsters lair. How ironic." Zelas commented, scanning the dragon before her in an attempt to determine the scope of her injuries. "Well that can't be good" Zelas said motioning to Filia's wing, or what was left of it. "You haven't given her your mark yet have you?"

"No mistress, not yet." Xellos said defeated.

"You do realize neither you nor I can do a thing to heal her without that mark, without it nullifying her resistance to dark magic, her body will simply reject it and could cause her even greater harm." Zelas said, displaying clear annoyance that her servant had yet to mark the dragon, this was going to make things a bit more difficult.

"Xellos, what actually happened?" Zelas questioned Xellos.

"Dragons" Xellos said, his voice dripping in venom and disgust.

A faint trace of surprise passed over Zelas's features before fading back into an emotionless mask. "Dragons huh? Well I must say that is unexpected." Zelas commented. "Now back to the matter at hand, how do you expect me to help her?"

Xellos contemplated this. "I think I have an idea, I could go to Seyruun and collect Miss Amelia. She is an accomplished priestess and could at least heal Filia enough for her to heal herself." Xellos suggested. He was positive that he could get Amelia to come along willingly once he explained the circumstances to her.

"You're telling me that you want to defile my home even more with all this holy magic! Oh very well just get it over with. I'll have the dragon taken to one of the spare rooms." Zelas then summoned two of her female servants from outside the door. "Take the dragon girl to one of the large spare rooms on the 3rd floor, be gentle with her and make her as comfortable as possible, and clean her up while you're at it."

"Yes mistress, as you command." One of the servants then turned into what looked like a giant orange boar nearly the size of Filia in her dragon form, it also had huge jaggedly spiked tusks that curled around the side of its mouth before protruding forwards like two deadly spiked spears. The boar, as carefully as she could, manoeuvred the unconscious Filia onto her back and made her way out the giant double doors of the hall.

"Mistress Zelas, may I suggest that Filia and the ancient egg not be separated, Filia might bring down the whole castle if it isn't with her when she wakes up." Xellos said, holding out the basket containing Val's egg.

"Very well then, you there, take the basket and make sure that it will be within eyesight of the dragon when she wakes up, and don't you dare drop it. If any harm comes to either of them, I'll hang you both in the dungeon by your thumbs and skin you alive." Zelas threatened the second female servant as her shivering form took the basket from Xellos and followed after her comrade carrying Filia.

"Thank you mistress, with your permission, I will go now to Seyruun and retrieve the princess Amelia." Xellos said bowing to his mistress.

"Very well Xellos, you may go, and be quick about it!" Zelas said before Xellos teleported out of her mist. –Sigh-'oh L-sama' Zelas thought to herself, 'what am I going to do with him?'

* * *

"Check" Amelia said, a small smirk forming on her otherwise innocent features as she faced her opponent. "Your turn Mr Zelgadis" she said, grin still in place as the chimera studied the board in front of them.

"Hmm, very good Amelia, but I'm afraid it was not good enough, checkmate!" Zelgadis said with a slight victory grin of his own as he overtook her bishop with his knight, winning him the game.

"Oh no, I was certain that I would be victorious this time, oh how could a warrior of righteousness fall for such an obvious trap. In the name of justice, I challenge you again Mr Zelgadis, and this time justice will prevail!" Amelia was standing with one foot on the chess board in her justice pose, pointing at Zelgadis. Zelgadis could not help but sweat drop at Amelia's antics.

"Amelia, it's getting late, we need to get to sleep; besides I've already beaten you 56 times tonight, don't you want to give it a rest?" Zelgadis pleaded, he and Amelia had been playing for hours and he was long past ready to call it a night.

'Those who fight for truth and justice do not need sleep, because they will be fuelled by the righteousness in their hearts, now Mr Zelgadis, do you accept my challenge!?"

"Amelia, it's late, I think it's time to stop." Zelgadis said as he began to rise from his chair.

"I couldn't agree more. Now if you're done with your game I'd like to borrow Miss Amelia if you don't mind." The disembodied voice of Xellos sounded in the room as he teleported beside the table facing the pair.

"Oh Mister Xellos" Amelia said

"You" Zelgadis spat, standing fully up with his hand on the hilt of his sword ready to draw it at any moment. "What do you want?"

"I just told you, I need to borrow Miss Amelia for a while." Xellos answered looking at Zelgadis with his usual closed eye stare.

"Why? What could you possibly need her for? And what makes you think I'll let you take her you freak?" Zelgadis said, anger making its way into his composure.

Xellos completely ignored Zelgadis and turned to Amelia. "Miss Amelia, I require your assistance with Filia, she has been badly wounded and is in need of healing, I'm asking that you come with me to my mistress's castle to heal her." Xellos said, his face and voice showing no emotion as he spoke to Amelia.

"What? What happened? Is Miss Filia ok? Amelia asked, shock written all over her face.

"She's badly hurt, so will you come?" Xellos asked, becoming somewhat annoyed that it was taking so long.

"Of course I'll come" Amelia started to rise when Zelgadis moved between Xellos and Amelia.

"Amelia, are you sure about this?" Zelgadis asked, worry etched all over his face.

"Of course Mr Zelgadis, Filia is our friend, and it is my duty as a warrior of justice to help friends in need" Amelia said confidently.

"I know that Amelia, but the thing that's worrying me is that Xellos also knows that, Amelia this could be a trap or something and we have no way of knowing." Zelgadis said.

"Even so Mr Zelgadis, if Mr Xellos is telling the truth then Miss Filia needs my help, I have to go." Amelia said grasping Zelgadis's arm in re-assurance. "I'll be fine Mr Zelgadis." She then stepped past the gloomy chimera and towards Xellos. "I'm ready Mr Xellos." Amelia said, holding her head up high. Xellos then held out his hand which Amelia then took.

"Don't worry Zelgadis; I'll bring her back in one piece for you." Was the last thing Xellos said before he phased out of the room, leaving behind a very peeved chimera.

* * *

Xellos had teleported strait to the room in which Filia was placed. She had been placed in one of the larger rooms of the castle. She lay unconscious in the middle of the floor on a large makeshift bed made out of a pile of wool rugs and pillows. There was also a queen size bed near the back of the room. The room was also decorated with a vanity and a moderate closet on one side and a large window with a veranda on the other, covered slightly with lavender drapes with gold trimmings.

"Oh Cepheid. Miss Filia!" Amelia exclaimed, rushing to Filia's side. "Hold on Miss Filia." Amelia placed her hands over the still form of the dragoness and began to enchant the healing spell. It was a full 10 minutes before Filia began to stir and finally open her eyes blinkingly.

"Uuuh" Filia groaned. "What happened? Miss Amelia is that you? Where are we?" Filia looked at the unfamiliar surroundings dazedly. Her eyes then landed on Xellos standing in the nearby corner of the room. "Xellos, what happened, where are we?" Filia eyes then suddenly widened in horror "Where's Val!? Xellos is he ok?" Filia then started looking around frantically, desperately trying to find her foster son.

"Calm down Fi-chan, he's right near the top of your head, don't worry he is completely unharmed and in perfect health, well at least from what we can tell from the appearance of his egg." Xellos said calmly as Filia turned towards where Xellos motioned and saw the basket with Val's egg safely tucked inside. At this sight Filia relaxed significantly and let out a sigh of relief.

At this time Amelia decided to ask her questions "Miss Filia, What exactly happened to you, especially to your wing?" Amelia asked motioning towards what was left of her wing.

Filia turned her head towards the ground. Amelia noticed that her friend seemed to tense up at the question and began to wonder if she should of kept her mouth shut until Filia was feeling a bit better, but she couldn't help but ask. One of her dearest friend was seriously wounded and she wanted to know who had made her comrade go through so much obvious pain. Amelia took a closer look at her friend and noticed the small trail of tears making their way down Filia's dragonic face. "Miss Filia please, don't cry, I'm sorry I asked, I should of just stayed quiet I-"

"Please Miss Amelia. It's ok." Filia interrupted Amelia's apology speech. How could she blame her? Amelia was a kind hearted girl who wanted to protect the innocent; it's no surprise that she would be curious and concerned as to how she came in this condition. "Besides I would think that you have a right to know since you helped to heal me, and I thank you for that Miss Amelia, I am in your gratitude."

"But Miss Filia, you don't need to thank me, after all it's nothing a warrior of justice wouldn't do." Amelia preached, sitting tall to emphasise her point. "And besides, your one of my friends, and that's what friends do for each other in times of need." Amelia said, giving Filia a soft smile.

"Even so, I am grateful, and Xellos…" Xellos stood up from his leaning position against the corner.

"Yes Fi-chan?"

"I need to talk to you privately after I've briefed Amelia with the situation." Filia said with a serious tone.

"Very well" was all Xellos said before leaning back into the dark corner.

"Ok then. Now Miss Amelia, I'm going to start from the beginning ok." Filia said turning to Amelia.

"Ok." Amelia said.

Filia managed to tell Amelia most of what happened that day, but when she got up to where Xellos made an appearance, she paused.

"…and I'm sorry, but after Xellos popped up, I can't remember much, the rest is all fuzzy. I remember that I passed out, when I'm not sure though, and then when I woke up I was here and you where healing me. And that's pretty much all I can remember." Filia said in concentration as if she where trying to remember exactly what happened before she fainted.

Through most of Filia's tale Amelia's jaw had dropped and she had a fire in her eyes that would have frightened any normal human, had there been any in the room. "Oh the injustice! I'm sorry Miss Filia but the golden dragons are appearing to be more and more evil the more we deal with them. First it was the case with the ancient dragons, and then it was the incident during the dark star campaign, and now this! The injustice is just too much to bear. You may forgive them but I, Amelia Will Testle Seyruun will not. In the name of justice I will punish them!" Amelia then struck her signature pose, sticking her foot on a nearby table for effect.

"I'm afraid that that is impossible at this time Miss Amelia." Xellos finally spoke up from his spot in the corner.

"How do you mean Mr Xellos?" Amelia asked looking towards Xellos with slight confusion.

"Well it's quite simple, they're already dead." Xellos stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see." Amelia said, a small amount of shock and disappointment on her face.

As for Filia, she just simply looked at Xellos, not saying a word or even showing any emotion.

"Yes, but thank you again Miss Amelia for all your help. I think it would be best though if you went home now, it's really late, in fact by my calculations it would be nearly dawn back in Seyruun. And I'm sure Mr Zelgadis would be worried sick." Xellos said, his usual playful smile back in place.

"Gasp; you're right, I need to get home now! I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer Miss Filia, please recover soon ok. And don't forget to stop by Seyruun once in a while; I really miss you ya know."

"I will Miss Amelia, safe trip." Filia bid her friend farewell as she made her way to Xellos's outstretched hand.

"Goodbye Miss Filia, hope to see you soon." Amelia called out.

"Goodbye." Filia called as Xellos took Amelia's hand and phased out with her in tow.

* * *

"Where are they? They should have been back hours ago." Zelgadis had been, and still was, pacing the entire study as soon as Xellos had taken Amelia a few hours ago. "GRRrrr, I swear if something has happened to Amelia I'm going to track down Lina and get her to dragonslave that bastard right up the…"

"Missing something Mr Zelgadis" a voice sounded from above Zelgadis. As he went to look up he was greeted with a Seyruun princess falling on top of him and using him as a means to slow her frighting high drop of 1.5 feet, to which she released an appropriate screech, temporarily rendering the chimera deaf.

"Oops, you should be more careful you know." Xellos commented to the entangled pair below him.

"Grrr, why you…" Before Zelgadis could finish Xellos had already phased out, his disembodied chuckling slowly fading after him.

* * *

So how was it? I know after ch 6 it is a bit short, but it was something to help relieve the writers block I had. And please I really need an answer to this question or I'm probably not going to be able to finish ch 8, How do you think Filia's injured wing going to affect her human form? Any ideas? Please review and share your ideas with me ok? Please? (give best puppy dog eyes)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Hi all, I just wanted to thank all you lovely people who reviewed my story, you make me so happy! I haven't been able to bribe the real owners of Slayers yet so yeah, I still don't own them T.T, but anyway on with the story!

Chapter 8

"Ouch! This is so difficult, ow!" Filia whined as she tried to manoeuvre her clothing off her shoulders without causing her back too much pain, least to say she was failing miserably. "AAAHHH" Filia cried as she felt the wound on her back stretch and tear even more. After she had reverted back into human form after Xellos had left with Amelia, the place where her injured wing would have been on her back was replaced by a rather large, messy gash running from the top of her shoulder blade down to the middle if her back. She was attempting to remove at least the top part of her clothing so she could get a better look at it, and also to stop her cloths from sticking to the wound and getting even more soiled, not that there was any point in saving it now. The back of it was covered in her freshly spilt blood and no amount of washing would ever be able to remove the stains.

"What are you screaming about Filia?" Xellos said as he phased into the room behind Filia. At the sight of Filia's blood soaked cloths and the partially exposed wound on her back, Xellos's usual trickster mask fell from his features, his eyes opened with a cold stare at the gash and he let slip a low menacing growl from the back of his throat.

"-gasp- Xellos what…" Filia looked back at Xellos with a small trail of tears down her pale face from the pain she was in, however she instantly shut her mouth when she herd Xellos growl and froze stock still as he glared at her exposed back. He then started to advance towards her quickly; Filia could not help but flinch slightly as he neared her back, causing Xellos to hesitate for the slightest second, before he proceeded to aid Filia in removing her top just enough for her wound to be fully exposed.

"Silly dragon, you should have waited until I got back before trying to do this on your own, you're going to cause yourself even more pain at this rate." Xellos said as he removed the last piece of cloth from her, fully exposing the damage done by the attack.

Filia was amazed at the care Xellos took when he helped her to remove her top, his hands where so gentle, she would never believe that this was the same monster that slaughtered hundreds of her own, now handling her so delicately as if she where made of thin glass. Filia then remembered that she was half naked, in front of the murderer of her race, and probably at her most vulnerable. She could do nothing to inhibit the tomato red blush that over took her whole body at the thought. She let out a tiny squeal and grabbed a piece of her discarded top and covered her front as best she could, however the sudden movement caused a bolt of pain to go through her whole body, Filia's body seized up and her legs gave way beneath her, however before she could even get half way to the ground, a pair of powerful, yet lean and gentle arms wrapped around her middle, holding her upright from behind. Xellos went to painful lengths to avoid Filia's wound as he picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the bed near the rear of the room.

"You need to be more careful you silly girl, or do you want to make your injuries even worse?" Xellos said with a small trace of sarcasm and irritation as he gently sat her on the edge of the bed.

"Well sorry but I don't feel comfortable being exposed like this, especially to you" Filia snapped, because we all know that it is understandable for a woman who was stalked, chased, and had her wing blown off, to be a little snappy.

"Well excuse me for giving a damn!" Xellos's hands where fisted at his sides while he loomed over her, honestly this woman has to be the only one who could get under his skin, and it somewhat worried him as to how much effect she had on him. Had she been anyone else, he would have incinerated her by now. But she's not someone else. She was Filia, and truth be told he doesn't think he could ever truly harm her, even raise a hand to her, and yet she could get him so mad, he could melt steel just by standing next to it!

"Well no one asked you to, why do you care anyway?" Filia asked; distain evident in her voice as she turned her nose up in a defiant fashion.

Xellos was somewhat unprepared for that question. As he saw it he had 3 options. Option 1: tell her the truth and that he had bonded with her and wanted to mate her (Yeah right, like _that_ will go down well). Option 2: deny everything (a tempting idea as it had served him well in the past). Or option 3: completely evade the question.

"That's not really the issue here at the moment," option 3 it was then, "for the time being you need to take better care of yourself or you're never going to heal properly. Now turn around while I get some bandages and fix you up." Xellos then went to the dresser near the wall of the room and pulled out a few bandages of different sizes from the bottom before deciding on the right size. He then grabbed the water basin from the top of the dresser which the servants had left after cleaning her up and a fresh rag before he made his way back to Filia.

"Well? Hurry up and turn around." Xellos commanded, motioning impatiently with his free hand. Filia hesitated slightly, but did as he bid and faced her back to him. Xellos then sat near her and stated cleaning around the gash as best he could without causing her too much pain. As he cleaned her he couldn't help but notice how soft her skin was, he could almost feel the texture through the rag, and he would bet anything that it was probably warm too. It also seemed to have its own little glow that had nothing to do with the lighting in the room. He took the opportunity to look over the rest of her body from behind. Her hair was like pure gold and as soft as the finest silks. He traced the junction between her neck and shoulders with his eyes intently; he could almost imagine what it would be like if he nibbled just where her shoulder started, just enough to draw a small amount of blood before he would lick the small trail, tasting her essence. His eyes started to glow ever so slightly as his thoughts continued to wonder as he finished cleaning Filia's wound.

He managed to rein in his imagination before they got too heated and set about getting the bandages ready. Before he put the first cloth to her he took one last look at the wound and his thoughts turned dark. He had come far too close to losing her because of those dragons. Xellos's eyes started to glow again, but this time it was of rage. How dare they harm what rightfully belongs to him, he was Xellos, general-priest to the great Beastmaster Zelas Metallium, second only to his master and the other dark lords, and they had the nerve and stupidity to attack _his _mate! If he had an alternative choice at the time, he would not have killed them so quickly; he would have made them suffer in intense agony in the deepest dungeons for eternity. But Filia was in mortal danger so he had to make it quick or run an even greater risk of losing her.

Putting these thoughts away for the time being he completed his task of wrapping her up as carefully as he could. "Filia, you have to move your arms or I can't wrap you properly." Xellos said, Ever since he had set her on the bed she had kept her arms in front of her chest, hiding herself from his gaze. Filia blushed bright red at this statement. If she removed her arms she would be in full view of one of her supposed to be sworn enemies.

'But then again, I can't really call him my enemy now, I mean he did save my life, and now he was helping to patch her back up' Filia thought to herself, 'But that doesn't change the fact that this is XELLOS! You and he had been butting heads since the beginning, and now you're about to let him _SEE_ you? Have you completely lost it!?' Filia argued back with herself, it was true, she and him had never gotten along in the past, but critically thinking she was in no [position to refuse his help, she was in no condition to bandage herself right now, "Fine, but don't get any ideas you hentai." Filia warned as she slowly lowered her arms so Xellos could wrap the bandage around her torso. She could not help but become acutely aware of how his hands felt on her naked skin. Every time his hand would brush against her ribs and back sent shivers through her entire body. She was surprised at her reactions towards him. If some had told her 2 months ago that she would be in Xellos's room, half naked while he bandaged her up, she would of thrown them out of her store and outright laugh at the preposterous thought.

"Xellos, about that talk I needed to have with you." Filia said in a small voice, she began to fidget with the bed covers in front of her, nervous about his reaction to what she had to say.

"Hmm, what about it?" Xellos said as he finished tying the bandage off and making sure it was secure. As he finished Filia turned around to face him, holding the remains of her cloths to her to try and hide herself.

"When I told Miss Amelia what happened, I lied. I do remember what happened after you showed up and put the barrier around me and Val, I saw everything, right up until you stopped the one who did this to me from escaping and tore one of his wings off, I think that's where I blacked out, but I remember everything right up until then clear as day." Filia had kept her head down through her whole confession, so she didn't catch the brief flicker of worry pace over Xellos's face before he returned back to his emotionless mask.

"I see, so why didn't you tell Miss Amelia?" Xellos asked without a trace of emotion.

"I didn't want to scare her, Xellos what I saw will probably haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life I…I didn't want her to go through that." Filia said, a small trail of tears making their way down her beautiful face. Xellos couldn't stand the sight of those tears, tears caused by him.

"I'm not sorry about what I did Filia, and you shouldn't be either, it was either them or you, it may not be pretty but that's the way life is. I thought you would have learnt this by now."

"I did learn, I learnt all too well." Filia began to sob softly as memories of her races misdeeds flowed through her like a tsunami.

Xellos's features softened slightly, he gently grabbed Filia's sobbing form and held her in his lap as he stoked her hair in a comforting motion. "Would it make you fell better if I said I'm sorry that you had to see it?" Filia never answered. She just buried her head into Xellos's chest and continued to cry until she finally cried herself to sleep.

After she had dozed off Xellos lifted her up as carefully as he could so not too disturb her, pulled the covers down on the bed and set her on her uninjured side to rest. He then pulled the covers back over her and for a while just sat next to her simply looking. He continued to stroke her hair for a short while after before finally getting up and walking towards the foot of the bed where Val's basket had been left. He picked up the basket and set it on the nightstand beside the bed where Filia lay. He then noticed that the flower was still in the basket. He was somewhat surprised as he expected one of the servants to steal the flower while no one was looking and he would have to track it down. They must have thought it would be a seriously bad idea to steal from a guest of their master, so had left the flower alone.

Xellos removed the vase with the flower and set it up beside the basket on the night stand before silently phasing out of the room, leaving the slumbering dragon to her dreams.

* * *

So how was it this time? I was actually planning on adding some more to this but decided that that might take a while so I'm letting you see what I got at the moment. Please tell me what you think please, I thrive on reviews and I'm starving for them! So go ahead, click the bar at the bottom there, you know you want to ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Howdy all again. I apologize if this is taking so long, I'm kinda getting tied down with uni and two jobs and assignments and looking after my brother and sisters and other babysitting and housework and boyfriend and AHHHHH so much stuff! Anyway I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I'm open for any ideas and/or input so please feel free to comment. And just a quick WARNING: this chapter contains a bit of lime, so if you don't like that stuff or if you are under 16, do not read it, you have been WARNED. I still don't own the Slayers, dang! T.T

**Chapter 9**

_Filia was running. All around her was a swirling grey mist, and within the mist, voices could be herd, shouts, screams, cries of battle and war. "Hello?" Filia called as she continued to run, "is anybody there? Please help me!" Filia cried as she ran and ran until she finally collapsed onto the ground. "Please" Filia sobbed, "somebody please help me." _

_And that's when she herd it, the distant howl of her purple wolf. She looked to her sides frantically, trying to locate the creature, she then turned around and that's when she saw it. The wolf was walking towards her, his amethyst eyes piercing into her own sapphire orbs. The wolf started to circle her, eyes never leaving her. "Have you come to help me?" Filia asked the wolf, hope shining within her blue eyes. The wolf didn't answer. _

_He circled her one more time, looking like he was studying her, deciding whether or not she was worth a meal, Filia became somewhat anxious, then without warning, the wolf pounced, pining Filia's arms down by the sides of her head with its own giant paws. Filia let out a yelp at the sudden impact, but instantly quietened as the beast began to sniff her neck, then her collar bone, and finally his nose settled right above were her heart was located, just above her left breast. The wolf let out a small light growl that could have been mistaken as a purr before he licked the spot were her heart was beating erratically. Then out of nowhere he bit her, right were he had just licked, a small prickling pain filled Filia's whole body, before quickly fading away, leaving behind a very dull sting as the wolf began to lick up any excess blood that spilled from the mark._

"_Now you're mine little dragon" Filia herd a familiar voice say, she looked into the face of the wolf who had spoken, then before her very eyes the wolf began to change. The tail receded, paws became hands, fur was replaced by a travelling priests cloths, the nose shrank and the face took on a more humanistic appearance, Filia's eyes widened in shock as she recognised both the voice that had spoken, and the face of the man now straddling her waist and holding her hands to prevent any movement she may try. "Xellos!"_

"_Don't try and struggle Fi-chan, you are now mine, and there is no place you can run, no place you can hide, to escape me. You're mine and I'm not about to let you go, not now, not ever."_

* * *

Filia awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt up, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She put a hand to her pounding heart and felt around. She let out a small sigh of relief when she didn't feel any pain to indicate a bite mark. 'huh, just a dream' Filia thought to herself as she took in her surroundings to see that she was still in the room Xellos's servants had put her in, discovering that she was alone again.

Filia moaned, hiding her face in her hands, 'what is happening to me?' Filia thought to herself. She began to reflect on the dream she had, absently putting her hand back on the spot the wolf had bitten. Filia could not help but feel somewhat disappointed and _empty_ knowing that the mark was just a dream. Like a part of her was missing.

"Ah, so you're finally awake I see, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep another whole day." Filia's head snapped to the corner of the bed where she saw Xellos leaning against his staff with both hands on the top with his chin resting on his knuckles.

"Xellos, when did you get here?" Filia asked in surprise, she was certain that he wasn't there when she first woke up.

"Actually I've been here a while now, just not in immediate sight." Xellos said calmly as he moved to sit on the corner of the bed. "So, are you feeling any better now after sleeping for a whole day?" Xellos asked, absently twirling his staff in his fingers as he regarded her.

"What do you mean a whole day? I couldn't have slept that long. Even if I did that means I've been gone for…" Filia did a quick mental count, "…nearly two days."

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"Well I can't of, otherwise that means that Jilas and Gravos…" Filia's eyes widened in shock, "That means that those two are still alone in my shop, and they've been there for the whole time!" Filia began to panic a bit when she realized that Jilas and Gravos would still be at the shop waiting for her, and also who would be running her shop while she's away if they weren't.

"Calm down Fi-chan, it's alright. I've already stopped by your shop and spoken to them. They know where you are and what's happened. They've also agreed to look after the store until you get back, so don't worry about it, they'll be just fine." Xellos said in an attempt to calm her down, the last thing he wanted was for her to be running around in a panic and opening her wound again.

"And Val?" Filia asked.

"Right beside you on the table, it's all been taken care of."

Filia looked where Xellos had motioned and let out a sigh of relief, he really did think of everything.

"Th-thank you Xellos, for everything." Filia said while staring at her hands in her lap, not wanting to make eye contact at the moment.

"Yare yare, did I just hear Miss Filia Ul Copt, little miss stuck up, too proud for her own good, _thank me_? After months of being called nothing but namagomi, I actually get a thank you? Talk about flipping the world upside down. Did you hit your head at some point Fi-chan? I must say this is nothing like you." Xellos did nothing to hide his amusement at the situation.

"Would you be quiet! I can be appreciative when I want to be. Besides I'm starting to regret I said anything." Filia huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning her nose up and away from him.

"Aww, come on Fi-chan, don't be such a kill joy, and really you can't blame me for being somewhat surprised, seeing as this is the first sign of appreciation you have ever shown me." Xellos said, his usual 'innocent' smile planted firmly on his face. Filia turned her head back to Xellos, arms still folded. 'Well, he does have a point there.'

Filia thought to herself. It was then that Xellos had an idea.

"Hey Filia, since I'm new to this whole 'thank you' thing, I could be wrong about this; is it true that if someone does something nice for you, you have to do something for them as a form of thank you? I mean if we're going to do this whole gratitude thing right, shouldn't you do me a favour to repay your debt to me?" Xellos asked, a smirk crawling its way onto his features.

Filia, least to say, was near struck dumb by Xellos's idea. She was not expecting him to use the 'I do for you, you do for me' excuse. "I suppose, but I never asked you to do any of this for me, so I don't see why I have to do anything for you." Filia retorted in self defence. She wasn't too sure about whatever it was that Xellos would ask of her, but she would bet that she probably wouldn't like it.

"Whether or not you asked for my help is not the issue here. The fact remains that I went through a lot of trouble to help your scaly hide, and I would like some compensation for my troubles." Xellos stated firmly. He was not going to let her back out of his plan for her; this was almost too good an opportunity.

"Bah, _compensation_, your just using that as an excuse to get me to do your dirty work again aren't you?" Filia spat, as if Xellos would need any form of compensation from anyone, least of all her.

"Well it's not often that I get any form of gratitude from you now is it? Of course I'm going to take advantage of it when it finally does come around Fi-chan, and besides, I did save both your and Val's life _and_ organise your domestic affairs, I think that a small price for my generosity is the least you could do." Xellos said, giving her his signature wink and finger point.

"Arr, why me?" Filia growled as she flopped back down onto the pillows, one hand holding her head to comfort the head ache she now had. "-Sigh- what would be your price Xellos? So I can get this over with."

"Hmm, I don't know," Before Filia could even blink Xellos was above her, arms either side of her head, straddling her waist, "I guess I'll just have to think of something now wont I?" Xellos purred; his face nose to nose with Filia's.

Filia gasped and held her breath, her mind instantly recalling her recent dream and Xellos's earlier incident in the doorway of her kitchen. Filia struggled to form any coherent sentences, but ended up with her mouth gaping like a fish gasping for water, and the only sounds she could make were little squeaks and whimpers as Xellos continued to stare at her with open eyes from his close proximity.

"Hmm; what to do? What to do?" Xellos half sang as he moved his head closer to her neck towards her ear. "What do you think I should ask for Filia hmm?" Xellos said as he nuzzled her hair, moving to her neck where he brushed his lips ever so slightly against her flesh, causing Filia to shiver beneath him and breakout in goose bumps. Xellos then went on to put wet but light kisses along her neck, her collar bone, back up to her chin, up to her ears, down to her cheeks, on her nose, and slowly but surely making his way to her lips. All the while Filia lay completely paralysed, unable to move even if she wanted to due to Xellos's hold on her wrists.

When Xellos finally made it to her lips, he paused for a second, hovering just above her, his lips barely a feather light touch that Filia wondered if he had made contact at all. He then fully closed the difference between them and consumed her lips in a light, but passionate kiss. As time went by, the kiss became more forceful, Xellos then ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Finally, Filia timidly responded, she opened her mouth to allow him access and Xellos seized the opportunity and claimed her mouth with his tongue, sweeping it all along her mouth, exploring every crevice, studying every tooth, memorizing every flavour. Filia then decided to bring her own tongue into play, shyly reaching it out and brushing his own teeth with it, paying particular close attention to his fang, sliding her tongue along its razor edge down to its very tip before paying the same homage to its brother.

Xellos let slip a small moan as he felt her tongue explore his mouth. He never thought that such a small and timid act could have such a profound affect on him. He then felt Filia give her own little moan and it was nearly his undoing. The sound and the vibrations in his mouth was pure bliss to him. Xellos then released one of her hands and began to make his way down her arm and stroke the side of her breast. Filia gasped, breaking the kiss, but Xellos continued to kiss the side of her mouth and down to her jaw as his hand moved to stroke the sensitive area under her breast through the bandages that still bound her.

'These are the first things to go' Xellos thought to himself as he swiftly removed the offending cloth with magic, the remains falling open to fully expose her flawless skin. Filia was startled at the sudden loss of support and moved to cover herself with her free hand, however Xellos's own hand caught her own and moved it back to the side of her head. "It's no use trying to hide yourself from me Filia, so don't even try, and besides, I kinda like the view." Xellos commented, a smirk on his face and eyes piercing into her own.

Filia's features hardened at his comment and she began to increase her struggles, "You stupid hentai namagomi, get off me!" Filia began to wriggle and squirm in an attempt to break his hold on her, but his grip was like iron and he didn't budge.

"Settle down Fi-chan, you dragons may be fast healers, but you will still reopen your wound if you keep squirming like that. At least wait until tomorrow, then you can wriggle all you want."

"Well then let me go and I'll stop wriggling and start bashing your head in you namagomi!" Filia snapped, however she did stop moving as her back was starting to throb and sting a bit. She figure it would take another day or so for her wound to heal, however her wing wouldn't grow back, her kind did not possess the regenerative traits that the monsters had, so while her wound will heal, she would never fly again. This thought brought tears to her eyes. She would never fly again. Never feel the wind under her wings or see the land from above the clouds, like a bird trapped in a cage, or an angel fallen from heaven, never to return back home.

Xellos sensed Filia's sudden change in emotion and was almost caught off guard. One second she's radiating blissful outrage, the next she's breaking down in pure misery. Xellos began to contemplate what could have happened to cause this abrupt change in mood and could not figure it out. Since this rather down Filia was not aiding his plan, he sought to find its cause and eradicate it. "Filia what's wrong? What happened to all that rage I was enjoying? Don't tell me you've lost all your fight already, I expected more from you Fi-chan." Xellos said; trying to rouse an answer from her as well as trying to get her fired up again, at least he knew how to deal with her when she's furious.

Filia continued to sob lightly for a few more seconds before finally meeting Xellos's curious orbs. "Xellos… (Sniff)I'm, I'm never going to fly again, I'm deformed, a pathetic excuse for a golden dragon. Do you have any idea what that's like, to never feel that freedom again?" Filia sniffed again before her face turned hard again as she glared at Xellos. "But then again, you probably don't really care do you? You're probably getting a good feed out of this like the lowly leech that you are!" Filia growled, her aura sparking with barely checked rage.

Xellos's own rage peaked at Filia's comment, but he managed to keep his temper in check and maintain his mask as he let Filia vent. "Now-now, there was no need for that last remark, yes I may be a monster and yes, I do enjoy feeding off others pain, but quite honestly, your pain is not that appealing. It's so dull and lacking flavour, while it will sustain me, it doesn't quite satisfy." Xellos said as he slowly began to stroke her hair. Filia hushed as Xellos continued to toy with her hair, intently listening to what he had to say. Meanwhile Xellos was having trouble admitting that he just said that out loud, when this whole thing started, revealing his rather picky tastes of Filia's emotions was the last thing on his mind. 'Oh well, can't change what's already been done, just got to make the most of it and move on.' "Filia, what if I told you that you could have your wing back again?"

"HA, I would call you a fruitcake with a few too many nuts" Filia replied somewhat harshly, tears still falling freely down her cheeks. Filia then looked into Xellos's eyes and took a deep breath, "Xellos, it's impossible for me to get my wing back, no amount of healing charms can replace an amputated limb, it's hopeless." Filia replied in a softer voice, turning her head to the side as more tears threatened to fall.

"Ah-ha you see, that's where you're wrong. I do it all the time you see, so there may be a way to help you regrow your precious wing." Xellos said; his cheery demeanour back in place.

"But you're a monster Xellos, that's natural for your kind, but for the rest of us it's not as simple as 'growing a new one'"

"But it could be" Xellos replied.

Filia turned her head back to Xellos, not quiet believing what he was saying, but hoping none the less. "Really? How? How is that even possible? And why are you telling me this? What's in it for you?" Filia inquired.

Xellos let out a small chuckle. "You're learning quickly my little dragon; you see there is a little catch to repairing your wing." Xellos said, bringing his face closer to her own.

"-Gulp-What's the catch?" Filia asked hesitantly.

"The catch is you have to agree to be my mate, for life."

* * *

Ooooooo, talk about a cliffy hehe, please don't kill me (hides behind couch), hey if it makes you feel better, the more reviews I get, the faster I type, so go ahead and click the little button on the bottom there and tell me your thoughts, as always constructive criticism is welcomed, as long as it is constructive, see ya later folks ;)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Howdy people, I really hope your enjoying this story so far, it is my first story, like, ever, and I want to do it right. Also I'm opening up my mind to any ideas of where people want this to go and random thoughts on endings and whatever, just so I can get a general overview of what people would like and expect, then I can work around that. See this is even more reason to review, because your review may end up influencing when and how the story ends, think about it, all that power literally at your finger tips, so don't forget to review please!

Oh I almost forgot, I do not own the slayers, lucky too otherwise I think Filia would kill me and quite after the things I put her through. Hehe :P

**WARNING: This story contains scenes not suitable for persons aged 16 years and under, you have been WARNED!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Xellos let out a small chuckle. "You're learning quickly my little dragon; you see there is a little catch to repairing your wing." Xellos said, bringing his face closer to her own._

"_-Gulp-What's the catch?" Filia asked hesitantly._

"_The catch is you have to agree to be my mate, for life."_

* * *

The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically as the words left Xellos's lips. The tension was so thick; you could slice it and serve it on your morning toast! The seconds passed like hours as Xellos waited for Filia's response. The trickster priest became a little concerned when Filia had not so much as breathed since he voiced his 'condition', and was starting to worry that she may black out or suffocate herself if she didn't soon. Filia then brought her lips into a fine line as the corners of her mouth began to turn upwards in what looked like a smirk. Her shoulders then started to shake as she fought to contain a fit of giggles, before she finally lost the battle and outright laughed like a lunatic being dragged into the room with the white walls.

"Hahahaha, oh Xellos, now that was funny...hehehahaha...and here I was thinking you where being serious for once, oh when will I learn? But honestly Xellos, that was one weird joke to pull, I mean, you wanting me to be your mate, Ha, as if that could ever happen right?"

"Hehe. Actually Filia, I was serious." Xellos stated, watching with slight amusement as the smile on Filia's face slowly disappeared to be replaced by a look of pure astonishment.

"Wh…what? But you can't be serious! Monsters don't even _have_ mates…do they?" Filia asked in confusion.

"As a matter of fact, we do. It is our second best kept secret of the monster race." Xellos said, eyeing her through his trademark wink.

"Cepheid! If that's the second, then what is the best kept secret?" Filia asked in astonishment.

"Now that is a secret!" Xellos said cheerfully.

"I set myself up for that one." Filia sighed to herself.

"Hmhm. So," Xellos said as he brought his head to her ear again, "What do you say Filia? Be mine, and I'll give you back your wing. Be mine, and I'll give you whatever you want." Xellos purred in her ear, causing Filia to shudder and a faint heat to pool in her stomach.

Filia's mind was in a haze, all she could focus on was the heat growing inside her, and the feel of Xellos's breath on her sensitive ears. Xellos then began to place hot kisses down her neck, pausing at the spot where her pulse was beating erratically and placed an open mouth kiss on it, gently biting and sucking the flesh. Filia could not suppress the small moan that escaped her lips as Xellos continued his way down her neck to where her neck met her shoulder. Xellos grinned slightly as he moved to fulfil his earlier fantasy of nibbling her shoulder, tasting a small tint of her metallic blood as he slightly broke the skin.

Filia gasped in a mixture of pleasure and pain as Xellos began to suck on the spot where he broke the skin. She could not believe that it was _Xellos_ that was doing these things to her. This type of thing usually only ever occurs in her most deepest and private of dreams.

Yes, Filia had dreamed of Xellos coming and showing her new worlds of both pleasure and pain, although these dreams she always managed to push to the back of her mind and forget they ever happened. She knew it was hopeless to wish for something with the monster she eventually grew attached to. She was raised to believe that all monsters where heartless beings with no feelings and no understandings of emotions other than their food supply. She was taught that they take pleasure in another beings misery; that they couldn't love. But no matter how much she told herself these things, she still could not help but fall for the same creature that caused half of her kind's destruction.

'But they didn't know that monsters could have mates' Filia contemplated to herself. If Xellos was telling the truth and monsters did indeed have mates, does that mean they are capable of positive emotions, maybe even love?

A small spark of hope was kindled within Filia as she contemplated this theory. If monsters could have mates, then they must be able to share and receive positive emotions to some extent. And one is generally affectionate with a mate, and usually affection is shown out of a small amount of love. Does that mean that Xellos may be affectionate to her? Even love her to an extent? The possibility seemed so outrageous and yet so plausible that Filia could feel the spark of hope grow at the possibility that Xellos may actually love her. The one thing she thought was impossible suddenly became enticingly probable and it was enough to make her heart ache in both joy at the chance that he loved her, and the despair of the chance that he didn't, and she was just building up her hope on fantasies.

Xellos was nearing the point of insanity. Filia's blood tasted so much better than he could ever imagine. It was like an aphrodisiac to him and he sucked hungrily on her shoulder, drawing the slight trickle of blood into his mouth. He felt a rush of heat through his whole body as he continued to taste Filia's flesh. He could feel his eyes begin to glow as his inner demon screamed for release and to mark her as his. But he would wait; he made a promise to both himself and his mistress that Filia would agree to the marking rather than forcing her to. But _damn it_ if she doesn't agree soon, he wasn't sure if he could hold himself back much longer, the combination of her taste, her scent, and everything, was driving his inner demon crazy!

Xellos finally pulled away from Filia's shoulder, leaving behind an angry red mark that he was sure to bruise. He then continued his way down to her chest, kissing right above her heart. "What do you say Filia? Search deep within yourself, and answer me this. Are you willing to bind yourself to me forever?" Xellos said as he stared deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul.

Filia's mind was racing. This was a big, life changing decision she was being asked to make, and with little time to do it in. She closed her eyes and a look of extreme concentration passed over her face. She was thinking about how this decision would affect her life. Weighing both the good and the bad, she looked deep within herself, breaking down every barrier she had set up around her heart and searched deep within its dark desires. After what seemed like hours of soul searching for Filia, she came to the decision that she did indeed love the monster above her. The acceptance of this fact was strangely comforting for her, as if a great weight had lifted itself off her shoulders and she was finally at piece with herself. She grew to love his childish personality and his boyish charms. While Filia was discovering her reasons for being fond of her purple haired monster, a part of her could not help but wonder about the side of him that he didn't show, but she knew existed. She decided that if she was even considering tying herself to Xellos, she should get to know all sides of him, so she knew what she was getting herself into for once.

"Xellos, I think I may have made up my mind, but first I need to ask you something." Filia said looking Xellos strait in the eyes.

"Will it affect your final decision?" Xellos asked, his face a mask of indifference.

"Yes. Yes it probably will." Filia answered.

"Then ask away Fi-chan."

"Ok, but firstly, could you let me up Xellos, your starting to cut the circulation off my wrists." Filia said, motioning towards her still trapped hands.

"Oh, right, sorry." Xellos said as he let her go and let her sit up, adjusting the pillows behind her so she could rest comfortably. He then completely got off her and sat cross-legged in front of her on the bed as Filia pulled the bed covers up over her exposed torso, trying to salvage at least a small portion of her decency.

Filia took a deep breath as she prepared to speak her mind to Xellos. She directly into Xellos's eyes, solid determination evident in her sapphire orbs. "Xellos Metallium, before I make my decision I have one thing to ask of you. I want to see your true form. I want to see your inner demon."

* * *

(Evil cackles) cliffy, cliffy, it's another cliffy! And don't you DARE throw that! Think about it if you kill me this cliffy will stay that way and you'll never see what happens! Let's make a deal, when I get 30 reviews I will put up the next chapter, and no sooner. But don't worry that shouldn't be too long, last time I checked and wrote this I had 25 reviews, so I'm basically just asking for another 5, that's not too much to ask is it? Nice round number. So please tell me what you think and any ideas you have for me I will study and try to incorporate into my story, I hope you all like it so far, and if you don't, tell me and ill see if I can do better. Thanks :D


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Ok first off I just want to thank a few people:

The first is Lucia for being my 30th reviewer (even though that was sort of cheating but it doesn't really matter, I still love ya ;)) cyber cupcakes with yellow frosting and purple sprinkles for you!

Then there is Leafwhistler, who always has some good advice for an inexperienced writer, I really do value and respect your opinion and I hope you continue to review my story, I LOVE YOU! (Gives you my special yellow and purple cyber cupcakes with a big hug)

I also want to recognise my loyal reviewers:

Link Fangirl01

Nuj

Jadehaku

OTP

Hefner, J.

cyberimp6

You guys make me so happy I just want to give you all my cyber cupcakes and BIG HUGS!!

As usual I do not own the Slayers (Man it still hurts no matter how many times you say it! T.T)

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_Filia took a deep breath as she prepared to speak her mind to Xellos. She directly into Xellos's eyes, solid determination evident in her sapphire orbs. "Xellos Metallium, before I make my decision I have one thing to ask of you. I want to see your true form. I want to see your inner demon."_

* * *

Xellos, least to say, was as close as he has ever come to being completely shocked. But he didn't let it show on his face. He kept himself as calm and calculating as possible, closing his eyes and replying with the best answer he could think of, "Huh…?"

Filia took another breath as she began to fidget under the covers. "Xellos, I want to see you, the _real_ you. I want to know what it is I'm signing myself up for. You know almost all there is to know about me, yet I know nothing about you. If I am to consider spending the rest of my life with you, I need to know who and what you are like, not just what you show others. I'm not that naïve Xellos, I know that behind that mask you always wear with the trickster smile, you are a completely different person, and I want to know who that person is. Is that really too much to ask?" Filia asked, almost desperate for him to answer her.

Xellos began to mull this over. On one hand, Filia had a point, not that many people have ever truly known him, save his mistress. And if Filia is to become his mate then she would have to get used to his 'other side' sooner or later. But on the other hand, if he dropped all his restraints and revealed his true form to Filia, there are many things that could jeopardise both Filia his relationship with her. If he reverted to his other form, his inner demon would be in near full control, meaning he may accidentally hurt Filia. Even now he was still fighting for control so as not to unwillingly mark her. His demon was very wrestles and at the moment very unpredictable, he really didn't want to risk it. If it had been any other day in the past he probably would have consented to Filia's wishes, when he was in better control of himself, but now…

Xellos looked up to Filia's pleading face; this did not help his predicament. "Filia, you need to understand this, so listen closely. If I am to let my inner demon out, I have to give up my control of it. A monsters inner demon is basically their pure instincts given a physical form. That's why I hardly ever show my true form in the first place. Being the high level monster that I am, one would expect my instincts to be more 'refined' as some may put it, true?" Xellos said. Filia confirmed by nodding her head slowly, taking in everything Xellos was saying to her. "Well, it's actually the total opposite. You see because unlike most monsters, I actually have proper 'manners' you could say, which means I have to restrain my inner self even more than other monsters of lower rank. As a result, when my true form is released, it like to 'make up for lost time' I guess you could say, and at times it can get very much out of control if left out for too long. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Xellos asked, hoping that Filia would understand why it wasn't a good idea for him to reveal his inner self at this time.

A thoughtful look graced Filia's features as she absorbed this new bit of information. She truthfully was not expecting that kind of answer from Xellos. She failed to consider the possible consequences of Xellos revealing his true form to her. But honestly how was she supposed to know! The man never told her anything, it was always 'a secret'! "Hmm, but if you can't control yourself when you change, then what happened way back with Valgaav in the cave? Didn't you transform then, just in smaller pieces?" Filia asked slightly puzzled.

Xellos chuckled at Filia's question, opening one eye towards her. "Two reasons Fi-chan. One: I wasn't bonded then." He said eyeing her intensely, Filia blushed a bright scarlet at his gaze. "And two: Like you said I was in 'smaller pieces', and when I scatter my conscious like that, it is surprisingly easier to remain in control. Because it is my inner self that has its conscious scattered, where's I managed to keep mine together, make sense?"

"Truthfully, no. but then again nothing makes sense anymore." Filia said with a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Xellos pondered something for a short while, his face then brightened considerably as he came up with an idea. "I got it! How about you spend two weeks with me here, on Wolf Pack Island. And at the end of the two weeks, you give me your final decision. That way you have plenty of time to find out all you want about me if you so wish." Xellos said with an air of triumph at his clever idea. He managed to come up with a solution that meant he didn't have to risk releasing his inner self to Filia (at least not yet) and he gets to keep her with him in his home, maybe even in his room! Xellos felt like a kid in a candy store at the thought of Filia in his territory, on his terms, at _his_ mercy. 'Not so innocent' thoughts began to invade Xellos's mind as he rolled this concept around in his mind, the possibilities where nearly endless!

Filia was slightly taken aback at Xellos's idea. A whole two weeks on Wolf Pack Island? With Xellos? Filia felt in her gut that this might be both good and bad at the same time. The positives where obvious, she had plenty of time to find out who the real Xellos was before she had to make up her mind. But at the same time, whilst she was here, he could do whatever he wanted with her. Even though highly doubted that Xellos would actually force anything on her, the mere fact that the possibility was there was unnerving. 'But, I may not get another chance like this. This could be my last chance to find out about the hidden Xellos. And if I don't take this chance, will he send me home and never return?' This thought had constantly haunted Filia since the day she subconsciously realized that she secretly enjoyed his company. What if she never saw him again? After finally admitting to herself that she love him, the mere thought caused Filia's heart to ache.

She looked up to Xellos's expectant face, eagerly awaiting her reply. 'It's worth it' she decided to herself. "…Fine, I will spend two weeks with you. And during this time if I ask a question, for a change I want an answer, no half-truths or 'that is a secret', I want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you L-sama."

"Yes your honour." Xellos said, sitting up strait and giving her a salute, his grin growing wider by the second.

"Fine, so we are in agreement. Lets shake on it so we are both clear about this." Filia said, extending her hand to the purple haired monster. Xellos simply continued to grin as he reached out his own hand, grasping hers firmly but gently as they shook to seal the deal.

'This is gonna be fun!'

'I just hope I know what I'm doing.'

* * *

For your sake Fi-chan, so do I. ok so I hope that was ok for you guys, this was actually harder to write than I thought it was going to be. And on a small note, if you guys don't mind too much do you just wanna chuck some numbers at me as to how many chapters I should let this story have. I know for a fact that if I'm not careful with this I could probably hit 30 at this point, heck at the start I didn't think I would make it past 7 chapters, but here we are at chapter 11 with the possibility of many more to come. So if you give me a rough limit I'll try to end the story by then, otherwise this could go on for ages.

And once again thankyou to all of you who take the time to stop by and review my story, I cherish every one almost as much as my dog, and she's my baby whom I love so very much, she's just so adorable!

-Ahem- anyway I would be very grateful if you please review, my special cyber cupcakes with yellow frosting and purple sprinkles to anyone who reviews. Common lets see if we can hit 37! [even if we don't ill still update so don't stress, its just that I like getting reviews, hehe ;)]


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I still don't own the slayers, so no suing me.

**Chapter 12**

"No."

"But Filia…"

"No."

"It's not tha…"

"No."

"Come on Fi-chan."

"No. no no no and, no." Filia was standing in the doorway of the room she was to call her own whilst she was on Wolf Pack Isle, one arm against the frame as she blocked Xellos from entering.

"Filia," Xellos whined, "It's my room too! Why won't you let me sleep in my own room? I promise not to take up all the bed space, honest." Xellos said, raising his right hand to show his sincerity.

"For a number of reasons. One; you're a MAZOKU, you don't even need sleep. Two; as of this moment we are not married, and it is improper for an unmarried pair of opposite genders to sleep in the same room in the same bed. And three; even if I did let you in, because of reason one combined with your roaming hands, I highly doubt I would be getting any sleep for my entire stay here, and you wouldn't want me to be tired now _would you?_" Filia stated more than she actually asked, raising one eyebrow at Xellos, almost daring him to contradict her.

"Well, I guess not. But I thought you wanted to learn more about me and spend more time with me. And wouldn't that be easier to do if we had to live in the same room?" Xellos retorted, his eyes almost pleading. Hey monster or not, Xellos is a male (a sexually frustrated one at that) and men do get desperate! And besides, that was _his bedroom_ and this was _his home_, and _she_ was kicking _him_ out!?

"Nice try Xellos, but that's not the point. I have made up my mind and you will not be sleeping in the same room as me. If you so much as open the door without knocking, I'll…I'll…" Filia thought for a moment. "Life is so wonderful, it makes me so full of joy to hear the birds sing in the clear blue sky, isn't life just marvellous Xellos? So full of colours and…"

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, you can have the room just STOP!" Xellos exclaimed, his face turning an interesting shade of green as he leaned against a nearby wall, looking as if he was going to be physically ill.

Filia grinned triumphantly. "Why thank you Xellos, that's very kind of you. Now if you will excuse me, I need to unpack a few things. I'll see you in about 2 hours." Before Filia left, she leaned over and gave Xellos a quick peck on the cheek and closed the door giggling before Xellos could even register what had happened.

Xellos held his cheek where Filia had kissed him and could not stop the grin that was making itself known on his face. 'Oh you had better be careful Filia, your baiting the wolf.' Xellos thought to himself as he made his way down the hall to his study, which _apparently_ was to be his new home for the next two weeks. 'Well, at least it's furnished with enough cushions to make a bed out of.' Xellos may not actually need to sleep, but he still did like to indulge himself in the act every now and again.

"_Xellos! Throne room! Now!"_ Xellos physically and figuratively flinched.

'Oh crap. She sounds pissed.' Xellos began to break into a light sweat as he obeyed his masters' wish and proceeded to the throne room, crossing his fingers along the way.

* * *

Meanwhile Filia was busying herself with unpacking the cloths Xellos had picked up for her and putting them along with some other items for essential female living into a chest of draws with a mirror on top. While Filia had been resting the previous night, Xellos had gone back to her shop to pack enough cloths for her for the two weeks. He had also got in contact with Jilas and Gravos and they agreed to watch the shop for her. They just asked that she stay safe and for her to bake them some of her casserole when she got back as payment.

Filia smiled as she remembered the two. They where her dear friends and she was grateful for everything that they've done for her. She finally finished unpacking and walked over to the bed near the back of the room. She sat down and ran her hand over the violet silk sheets, 'honestly what is it with Xellos and the colour purple?' Although she will admit that it was a rather appealing colour, but that could just be because she always sees him when she sees purple, it's like he is the colour itself. Not that she minded though, it suited him. Purple was considered to be one of the royal colours, and Xellos did seem to have a regal-ness about him. He is also the first person Filia has known that can make the colour seem almost masculine.

Filia looked towards the bedside table that seated Val and his basket, the egg still in its place nestled comfortably in the cushion. "Hmm, well your taking your sweet time in hatching now aren't you?" Filia said to the egg. Evidently her son was a rather lazy one. Filia then began to ponder on what would happen to Val if she did end up being with Xellos forever. Would he be protected? Would Xellos care for him like a father? Would he make Val go on missions for his mistress? This thought greatly disturbed Filia. She did not want Val's second chance in life to be controlled by monsters again. In his last lifetime he was under the servitude of Gaav, he did not need another life of servitude. He deserved a happy life surrounded by people who would love and protect him.

"Well that's one of the reasons I'm here isn't it? To make sure that bonding with Xellos won't jeopardise your chances of a better life." Filia said more to herself than to Val's silent egg.

Filia looked towards the clock on the nightstand. 'Well I have an extra hour to kill, might as well take a small nap.' Filia then retrieved Val's basket and placed it right next to her head on the stand. "Goodnight Val, pleasant dreams." Filia said before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Hehe, so how was it? I hope your liking the story so far, it's become like my pride and joy.

On a side note, my other story 'mistaken identity', I did a re-write on it so I hope I did better this time around. So if you read it the first time and thought is was too dark, try again at ch 2. I left the original up for comparisons sake.

And back to this, please don't forget to stop by and review this story, I always look forward to reading what people think of it, ta! xD


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: welcome back guys! I hope you're all enjoying where the story is going so far and I hope I don't disappoint you in your expectations for future chapters, warning, there will be swearing. As we all know I do not own the slayers. Any way, on with the story!

**Chapter 13**

As Xellos approached the main doors to the throne room, his anxiety did not diminish; in fact with every step he took it seemed to double in intensity. It was very rare for his mistress to be in a foul mood, but when she was, least to say it's never pleasant.

When Xellos arrived at the main doors, he hesitated for a split second before opening them enough for him to walk through and closed them behind him. He then walked up to the modest throne in the centre of the room and bowed before his mistress. Upon his approach Xellos noticed with unease that his mistress was not relaxed in her throne like usual, leaning back with her legs crossed with a long cigarette in hand. Instead she was sitting straight up, arms crossed and a look upon her features saying clear as day 'I'm not happy little mister!' But what really had Xellos worried and fearing for his life, was the absence of the cigarette, 'Shit shit shit, I'm in deep shit! What did I do? What happened? SHIT!'

Zelas began to tap her foot slightly, like a mother waiting for her child to explain how there are muddy handprint all through her clean laundry and why the cat is now bald.

Xellos gulped. "You called for me mistress." Xellos said, trying to keep the quiver from his otherwise smooth voice.

"Why is she still here?" Zelas said through gritted teeth, she was definitely in a bad mood.

'Ah, well you see, I was going to tell you…"

"Silence Xellos. Do not stall and just answer me. Why is that dragon of yours still in my home? She should be healed by now, so why isn't she gone yet? Explain Xellos, and this had better be good." Zelas said, her voice ringing with authority and irritation.

Xellos was sweating by this point. "Heh, well mistress, you see there was a slight…change of plans." Xellos began, standing upright and scratching the back of his head in nervousness.

"What do you mean _a change of plans_? I said do not stall Xellos, out with it."

"I mean mistress, that Filia will actually be staying here for the period of two weeks for the purpose of deciding whether or not she will willingly accept my mate mark." Xellos said in a rush, cringing ever so slightly as he waited for the explosion that he was sure to come.

A dead silence pervaded the room. Xellos could fel the tension growing in the air as he awaited his mistress's reply. Zelas took a deep breath as she managed to compose herself. "Xellos, did it cross your mind at all to at least _ask_ me, before deciding who stays in my castle?" Zelas asked, her voice deadly calm, it sent a slight shiver down Xellos's spine.

All Xellos could so was scratch the back of his head with a small nervous smile on his face.

Zelas sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of her nose. This whole thing was beginning to give her a head ache. "Well I suppose that it doesn't matter now does it? What's done is done. Will you at least tell me what it exactly is going to happen during her stay?" Zelas asked, her tone softer now as she leaned back in a more relaxed posture.

"Hai. It was agreed that Filia will stay here in this castle for two weeks, during which time I have agreed to answer any questions she may have about myself, in order for her to better know me and make an informed decision on whether or not she wishes to be my mate, willingly." Xellos added. He did not know how this would all work out and what state of mind he would be in after two weeks. All he knew was that if Filia did not accept him, it probably wouldn't be healthy for either of them.

"Wait. You agreed to answer any of her questions? Xellos were you even thinking straight when you made this arrangement?" Zelas said, irritation creeping back into her tone.

"How do you mean mistress?" Xellos asked, slightly puzzled.

"Xellos there are some things that should remain a secret. What if she asks you about the monster races greatest weaknesses? Or what our next plan of attacks are and with whom? This arrangement could potentially leave the monster race vulnerable. Xellos I'm going to have to order you to break that vow of honesty. It's just too risky." Zelas said.

"Hmm, I see your point mistress, but I think that would contradict the point of Filia's stay. Is there some kind of compromise we could come to?" Xellos asked, while he was not too keen on sharing all his secrets with Filia in the first place now that he though about it, he will admit that it was necessary for Filia to trust him in the future. If he went back on his promise now, then she will never trust him again, and that could make things a whole lot more difficult for him.

Zelas closed her eyes as she contemplated this. "Hmm, I suppose. Aha!" Zelas snapped her fingers as she thought of an idea. "I know, you can answer any question she has, as long as it's to do with you and only you. You are not to tell her anything about the monster race or our doings if it does not relate directly to you, even then only what she needs to know, and nothing more." Zelas said with an air of finality.

Xellos thought this through and concluded that it was a solid plan of action as it allowed for Filia to learn more about him, and it prevented him from being forced to share information that was classified top secret to an outsider. "That could work. Thank you, mistress Zelas." Xellos said with a bow, relieved that the danger had now passed.

"There's no need Xellos. After all where did you think you got that quick wit of yours from? Now go, I do not require your services for the rest of the night. Report back here by noon tomorrow. I have a new assignment for you tomorrow night. If you hurry you can have it done by the next day and you can hurry back to your pet dragon." Zelas said as she conjured up a cigarette out of thin air, waving her hand dismissively at Xellos.

"Hai mistress Zelas, as you command." And Xellos left the same way he had come, closing the doors behind him.

'So, the dragon girl is staying here for a while is she?' Zelas chuckled darkly to herself. 'Hehe, I think it's about time I had some fun with her.' Zelas plotted as she took a drag from her cigarette. 'Oh yes, and what fun it will be.'

* * *

Filia had just finished her nap and was gathering her cloths to change when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Filia, can I come in?" this slightly irked Xellos that he had to ask permission to go into his own room, but he really didn't want another lesson in how wonderful life could be.

""Not yet just give me two minutes I'm getting changed." Filia called out, he could hear a lot of opening and shutting of draws as Filia rushed around trying to get changed.

"Oh, would you perchance require some help? I would gladly give you my assistance." Xellos said as a small grin crept across his face, already knowing how Filia would react.

"Oh I bet you would you perverted hentai namagomi! You just stay out there and don't you dare try and sneak a peak!" Filia replied in irritation as she slipped her dress over her head. Filia could swear she heard Xellos tapping his foot impatiently.

"Are you done yet? Honestly are all dragons this slow at everything? Slow learners, slow flyers, slow dressers…" Xellos was halfway through his teasing rant when the door suddenly opened and a dark object appeared and hit Xellos square in the face, sending him flying into the wall behind him.

"Ouch…" Xellos moaned. He was more surprised than hurt that Filia actually managed to hit him; he barely even saw that coming. When he stopped seeing stars around his head he saw Filia standing in the doorway panting and holding her mace out towards his face, a small triumphant smile on her face. 'Funny, I thought I purposely left that thing behind.' Xellos thought absently.

"That's what you get for being so impatient and insulting my speed in dressing." Filia said as she walked over and pried Xellos out of the indent he made in the wall.

"Filia, where did you get that mace? Because I don't remember packing it." Xellos asked, eyeing the mace as if it personally was the root of all his troubles.

"I keep a spare mace under the cushion in Val's basket, just in case." Filia said, winking at Xellos as she made her way back into the room.

Xellos sweatdropped as he stared at Filia's retreating form. 'Well there goes my mace free fortnight.' He thought gloomily to himself as he followed her into the room.

"So, what are we gonna do today then?" Filia asked as she sat down in front of the vanity and started brushing her hair.

"Well I thought it would be a good idea to give you a bit of a tour of the house and island and lay down some ground rules while we're at it." Xellos replied as he watched Filia run the brush through her golden locks.

'That sounds reasonable enough. What about Val? I can't just leave him here on his own; I don't exactly trust the _servants_ in this place." Filia said, concern for her son etched on her face.

"Smart girl. I suppose we could bring him along, just don't let that basket out of your sight once we're outside, if it goes missing while we're out there you'll never see it again." Xellos said as Filia went over and picked the basket up. "Oh and before we head of I need you to put this on." Xellos reached into his side bag that he always wore and pulled out a silver bracelet with green ancient symbols that Filia did not recognise carved all around. "This is literally a charm bracelet. I've had a spell cast on it that will allow you to walk around the castle and island without being attacked as an intruder. It will also act as a shield of all the negative emotions that permeate the island. As I understand it over exposure to all these emotions can be rather unhealthy for dragons, just like over exposure to positive emotions is for monsters." Xellos explained as he fastened the bracelet to her wrist.

"Oh, thank you Xellos." Filia said as she stared at Xellos's calm features as he finished clasping the bracelet, his hands seemed to linger on her own for a few seconds before he pulled them back.

"Yes well, now that that's done, shall we?" Xellos said as he bowed slightly and gestured out the door with his hand.

"Yes, we shall." And Filia walked out the door, Val's basket tucked safely under her arm, with Xellos following close behind.

* * *

Well I hope this was ok for you guys, next chapter is the grand tour. I've already started it by this point so it shouldn't be too long.

Ok when I wrote this I had 44 reviews (yay for me and everyone!) and I was wondering if we could perhaps turn that into 50? If we do then ill put the new chapter up twice as fast.

Let's say this: every review is like an energy drink for me. If I get none, then I'm really tired and go really slow. The more I get, the more I wake up and the faster my fingers go, if I get 50, my fingers are just blurs on the key board. Any more, well lets just say ill be lucky if my fingers don't disintegrate with the speed in which the next chapter comes up. So please review and you will get a speedy update! Thanx XD


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: howdy guys! Ok this is another looong chapter, but trust me it's funny…well the second half is anyway. But don't take my word for it, read and find out! (Still don't own the slayers)

**Chapter 14**

"This place is _huge_! Do you really need all this space?" Filia asked in awe as she and Xellos proceeded down a large hallway big enough to comfortably fit her in her dragon form, even allow a bit of room for flight if she wanted to. 'Or was even capable of' Filia thought sadly to herself. She was still getting over the loss of her wing and it still hurt to think about it.

"Not really, but Beastmaster does like to show off for the occasional guest sometimes. Otherwise half this place we wouldn't even bother to have cleaned." Xellos said, mercifully dragging Filia's thoughts away from her lost wing.

"Oh. Well what do you do when you don't have any guests?" Filia asked

"Nothing much." Xellos said shrugging, "The space is pretty much just _there_. Ok right down that hallway at the very end is the throne room. Two huge double doors, you can't miss it." Xellos gestured down an adjacent hallway to her right. She could indeed see a pair of double doors reaching from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Although it was a far way down the hall and it was very dark, so she had to squint to see it. "That's also usually where Beastmaster is, so I suggest you don't go down there unless you are sent for, understood?"

"I guess so." Filia replied. A nervous shiver ran down her spine with the knowledge that the Beastmaster was so close to where she would be staying.

"Alright." Now down this hall a bit further to the left is my study, _apparently_ it's also where I'll be staying if you need me." Xellos said, playful sarcasm evident in his tone. Filia simply smiled and nodded.

They then arrived at a large empty square room that acted as a cross section with three other passages leading in different directions, one at each of the walls, not including the one Filia and Xellos had entered through. "Now pay very close attention Filia, this is very important. The passageway we just came from was the entrance to the west wing, it's basically where most of the bedrooms and living quarters are, also the throne room. Straight ahead is obviously the east wing, down there you'll find the main dinning room and a ball room which both also lead out to the east garden. We really only use that wing when we are entertaining a large number of guests, usually visiting Mazoku lords. The east garden is also one of the safe gardens, meaning you can go out that garden alone without being attacked or eaten by one of the carnivorous plants." Xellos explained.

"Carnivorous plants!?" Filia asked in shock.

"Yes well, mistress Zelas has a hobby of collecting unusual animals and plant life, among other things." Xellos stated, shrugging his shoulder slightly. "Moving on, to the left is the north wing, do NOT go down there, there are things in that wing that you do not need to see, nor would you wish to see. Same goes for the north garden, just stay well away from the north side of the island if you can help it." Xellos warned, his tone and face showing that he was serious.

"Why? What in the north wing? And is the north garden where the man eating plants are?" Filia asked, nervously glancing down thee hall Xellos had indicated.

"The north wing contains all the dungeons and the war room, trust me Filia, you do not want to go down there, that is the one place that you should never go, for your own safety as well as your sanity. And yes, the larger of the man eating plants are restricted to the north garden, even the local wolves know better than to wander too far towards the north." Xellos added, placing a hand on the small of Filia's back, whose eyes had bulged, staring down the hall as if all her nightmares were contained within its walls. 'Which might not be too far from the truth' Xellos thought to himself as he turned her towards their right.

"Now lastly is the south wing. This whole entire wing is actually more forest than building. This is also where nearly all the wolves of the island reside. Beastmaster has a sort of affinity for wolves and has given them a whole wing for themselves; she even went as far to turn most of the building into an indoor forest to make them feel more comfortable. It is essential that you do not go down there by yourself. Only go down there if I am with you, and no one else. Except maybe Mistress Zelas, but I don't see why she would take you down there so you don't have to worry about that. Just make sure I am with you if you want to go exploring that wing. If you do go there without me, the wolves would most likely attack you as an intruder, with or without the bracelet, and rip you to shreds, is that clear?" Xellos asked as he opened one eye and stared at her.

"Crystal." Filia's voice sounded more like a squeak as she stepped a little closer to Xellos and held onto his arm with her free hand. Xellos had to admit that he may be exaggerating the truth a bit, but it was well worth it to see the look on Filia's face, and he wasn't complaining about her latching onto him either.

"Right, well how about we start with the east wing first. Then in a day or two once you're a bit more comfortable with your surroundings, I'll take you down the south wing for a while, just so you get to know the wolves a bit, and so they get to know you." Xellos explained as he guided Filia straight ahead and down the east wing hallway.

"What? You want to take me to meet a pack of wolves!? And not only that, but ones that would rip me to shreds if they catch me alone? Are you serious?" Filia asked, panic lacing her tone at the thought of getting up close and personal with a pack of wolves that would gladly have her for supper.

"Relax Fi-chan; they won't even bare their teeth at you as long as you're with me. And besides once they get used to you, you would be able to come and go as you please without fear of being attacked, but admittedly that may take a while, so I suggest you wait until I say it's safe for you to go down there on your own, ok?"

"Ok." Filia replied, she was feeling a lot calmer now, but she was still a little wary of meeting the creatures. They made their way down the hall which looked very similar to the one that they just came from, except that this hall had a few tapestries and paintings from what appeared to be different time periods. There where scenes from bloody battle fields, portraits of past monsters of high power, she could of sworn she saw a tapestry illustrating the War of the Monsters Fall. "You have…interesting tastes in art" Filia commented, not quite sure how to voice her opinion without it sounding like an insult.

"Why thank you Filia, but I would call it more of a historical record than actual art. Every piece is a representation of actual events, dating as far back to a short while before The Great War, some even before I was created." Xellos said, his tone sounding like he was rather proud about this fact.

"Wow. How did you come into possession of all of them? And I didn't even know that people where painting at that time." Filia said in awe. She may not be a fan of the battle fields, but even she can recognise how valuable such artwork would be in the outside world.

"Who said that it was humans that painted them? Some of these where painted by Beastmaster herself in her younger years. And as to how I acquired them, well let's just say I know a few people." Xellos said, giving Filia his trademark wink as they made their way through another pair of large double doors to their right.

"Now this," Xellos said as he opened the doors for Filia, candles all around the room and on the chandelier alighting as soon as he entered the room, "is the main library."

When Filia looked into the room her draw practically dropped to the floor and her eyes where nearly popping out of her head. 'It's _gi-normous_![pronounced (j-eye-nor-muss)]' Filia could not believe the size of the room. The ceiling must have been 65 feet high and she couldn't even see where the walls ended. All she could make out was what looked like a large number of glass windows at the other end of the room with a glass door leading out to what she thought was a patio, at least that's what she could see from this distance. And the whole room was filled with thousands of book shelves reaching from the floor to just a short distance from the ceiling, even the walls either side of the doors where lined with books.

"Ahem, Filia, you're gonna catch flies if you do that much longer." Xellos said as he gently poked her arm to snap her out of her daze. Filia's mind returned to earth at the sound of Xellos's voice and she clamped her mouth shut.

"This is…amazing! It's a scholars dream!" Filia said as she started to wander into the library, looking as if she didn't know where to start her crusade to read every book contained within it.

"Yes, I suppose it is. After a couple of hundred years you tend to get rather bored, I find that this is the best way to relieve that boredom." 'Among other things' Xellos added to himself with a mischievous grin as he walked up beside Filia and gestured to the whole room as he spoke. "Now since the east wing is pretty much a safe zone you can come in here anytime you wish and browse to your hearts content. Just don't get yourself lost in here, ok?"

"Uh-huh." Filia mumbled as she continued to stare all around her. Xellos chuckled slightly to himself at Filia's dazed expression. She looked almost cute when she was like this, the stars in her eyes and her lips parted in wonder. Although truth-be-told Xellos thought that she looked much cuter when she was in a fiery rage with her eyes set aflame and her hair strewn all about her as she attempted to turn him into a Mazoku pancake. 'Good times, good times.' Xellos chuckled again at the memories, Filia herd him and snapped out of her revere.

"What? What's so funny?" Filia asked in accusation as she glared at Xellos.

"Oh it's nothing Fi-chan, no need to worry." Xellos replied, his mirthful smile still present on his features.

Filia threw one last suspicious glance at Xellos before returning her attention to the library. "Now if you're done gawking at the library, shall we continue on our tour?" Xellos said, motioning towards the other end of the library where Filia could see the afternoon sunlight streaming through the glass windows and doors. Filia simply nodded her head and followed Xellos across to the patio.

As Filia got closer to the doors she began to make out a few white, glass tables with wicker chairs to match. There was also a white stone railing separating the patio from the rest of the garden. The scene reminded Filia of the posh gardens the wealthy people would have their afternoon tea in (AN: think fancy English tea party garden). Even though seeing this type of garden would make sense since this whole castle screams wealth, Filia was still a little surprised to see a place of peace and quiet in a monsters lair.

"This is the east garden. There are also other entrances into the garden further down the main hallway out of the dining room and ball room. They also have patios although those ones are a bit bigger than this one." Xellos explained as Filia wandered between the tables looking all around her. She then made her way to the stone railing and gazed out into the garden. There were countless blooms of all colours, shapes and sizes. A stone path wound its way around rose bushes and small trees until all the paths converged at a water fountain in the centre of the entire garden. There was also a small hedge running along the railing that separated it from the rest of the garden. Filia also noticed a maze further out in the garden. It wasn't a huge maze in terms of height, but it was tall enough that she probably wouldn't be able to see over the edge unless she jumped. And finally at the very edge of the garden was the beginning of what looked like a small forest. There was a space of open grass before a thick crop of trees stopped all lines of vision beyond their blackened depths.

"And that's the start of the east forest." Xellos said as he suddenly appeared beside her, making Filia jump slightly.

"Would you please not do that Xellos. It creeps me out." Filia said as she exaggerated a shiver running down her spine.

"But Fi-chan, that's all the fun in doing it in the first place." Xellos said with his usual wink and finger wag.

"Why do I even bother." Filia mumbled as she rolled her eyes. Xellos just chuckled again and looked out into the garden.

"Another quick note Filia. While this garden is considered safe. It would still be a wise idea not to be out here at night by yourself. Particularly 2 hours before and after midnight is the worst time to be outdoors. But before and after that you should be fine." Xellos said as he glanced at her from the corner one of his amethyst eyes.

"Oh, how come?" Filia asked as she faced Xellos.

"Filia. Remember where you are. This is monster territory. Around the time of midnight is when the island is at its most active. And while that bracelet will protect you, truthfully I'd rather not risk it, would you?" Xellos asked as he fully faced her, raising one of his eyebrows at her in question.

"No, I suppose not. You know for a species that's known for creating and thriving on chaos, you seem to have a lot of rules around here." Filia commented as she raised her own eyebrow at Xellos, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Well technically, I can do whatever I want. So far all the rules have been for _your_ protection. So really the monster race doesn't have that many rules, besides following your masters' command of course, so the rules truthfully only apply to you." Xellos said as he crossed his arms and smirked down at Filia's flustered face.

Filia humphed and crossed her own arms as she looked away from Xellos's amused features. 'Why does it seem that no matter where I go there are so many rules and boundaries? Even in monster territory I'm subjected to so many rules and regulations it's making my head spin' Filia thought to herself as she and Xellos left the patio back through the library and out into the main hall again. As they both exited the doors Filia noticed that the lights seemed to turn put themselves out as if blown out by a sudden gust of wind as the giant doors also closed of their own accord. 'I don't know if I'll ever get used to that' Filia thought as a slight shiver ran down her spine.

The rest of the tour continued without much excitement. After the library Xellos had shown her a few smaller sitting rooms around the east wing, also where about the dinning room and ball room where, but he didn't take her inside, saying that there wasn't much need at this point and if he showed her everything today then she wouldn't have anything left to explore later in her stay.

"Alright now, I think that pretty much covers the basics of the place. The rest I think I'll leave up to you to explore on your own." Xellos said as they exited one of the small kitchens which where scattered throughout the castle.

"Oh my, you mean there's _more_? Xellos we've been walking around for _2 hours_, and you're telling me we haven't even _finished_!?" Filia exclaimed, not even bothering to hide her exhaustion as well as her astonishment.

Xellos chuckled. "Why Filia there's always more. Heck I've been here my whole life and even I don't know every part of the castle. But that's mostly because I haven't worked up the enthusiasm to go exploring it much when I am here." Xellos said as he shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion.

"Well, what should we do now?" Filia asked as they proceeded back down the hall towards the cross section.

"Hmm, firstly I think we'll head back to your room…"

"XELLOS!" screeched Filia as she raised her mace (which she somehow grabbed out of Val's basket without disturbing the cushion,_ do not ask me how_) above her head ready to pound him flat.

"You didn't let me finish! I mean so you can rest up a bit and eat Fi-chan or else you're gonna collapse on me." Xellos said, his hands rose in front of his head in self defence.

"Oh! Well I suppose that's all well and good." Filia said sweetly as she put her mace back in it's place under Val's cushion. Xellos could not help but wonder how that thing hasn't cracked the kids' egg yet even with the pillow between them.

"My, someone's quick to jump to conclusions. And so violent about it too. Tsk tsk that is very un-lady like Miss Filia." Xellos said as he smiled down at Filia's slowly growing rage.

"Why you…" Filia growled. Honestly if looks could kill, Xellos would be a black smudge on the ground at this point. Filia then turned away from Xellos and started walking down the hall away from him.

"Ah Filia, the west wing is this way." Xellos said as he pointed in the opposite direction to which Filia was stomping.

Filia growled again slightly and mumbled something to her self as she turned back the way she came. "I knew that!" she hissed at Xellos as she passed him and headed down to the west wing, still mumbling to herself along the way.

Xellos himself was trying his very best not to break out laughing. Filia was just so hilarious when she was furious. Not wanting his afternoon snack to get too far ahead he followed her down the hall, albeit a few paces behind her now.

They eventually made it back to Filia's room, Filia still in a bit of a huff but she had cooled down a bit by now. She opened her door into her room, leaving it open so Xellos could follow her in. she walked over to the bed, laid the basket down on the nightstand and fell backwards onto the covers, completely exhausted.

"What? Tired already? Is it just me or are you getting rather lazy lately Filia?" Xellos chuckled as he leaned against the door frame, his staff resting beside him against the wall.

"I am not getting lazy!" Filia yelled, bolting upright as she glared at Xellos.

"Oh I beg to differ. Back during the Darkstar campaign you would run Miss Lina and the others into the ground, always wanting to travel non-stop night and day barely breaking a sweat. And now look at you. You've spent so much time sleeping for the past few days anyone would mistake you for a bear going into hibernation, and we go for a short 2 hour walk and you're so tired you can hardly stand up. You've gotten lazy Filia, keep it up and you're going to get fat soon." Xellos said, a grin slowly making it's way across his face.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO"S LAZY NAMAGOMI!" Filia screeched as she retrieved her mace and charged at Xellos. By now Xellos was openly smiling, his eyes slightly open as he watched his dragon charge at him, murderous intent clear on her face. Just before Filia made contact with him, Xellos fazed out of harms way, narrowly missing Filia's mace as it completely destroyed part of his wall. 'Hmm, I'll have to fix that later. Oh well, this is so worth it!' Xellos giggled as Filia tried to dust herself off of the debris that was once his wall.

"Oh come on now Fi-chan, you used to be so much faster than that. Has old age finally caught up with you? I can already see the wrinkles from here." Xellos teased as Filia went rigid, her aura seemed to be electrifying the air around her.

Filia let out a shrill battle cry as she charged again and again, Xellos constantly dodging her blows. "You're one to talk namagomi! You're much older than me, if anyone's getting wrinkly is YOU!" Filia yelled as she continually swung her mace, aiming for Xellos's head.

"Ha! Wrinkles on this handsome face? Not on your life sister." Xellos retorted as he dodged another one of her swings while holding up a hand held mirror, checking his reflection.

"Botox" was the one word Filia said, a sadistic grin spreading across her face. Xellos, who was floating in the air at the time, dropped a few feet, loosing his grip on his mirror.

"What did you say Fi-_chan_!?" Xellos said, his voice eerily calm.

Filia didn't realize the danger she was putting herself into as she repeated herself, raising her chin in defiance. "Botox, you know, what people use to get rid of ghastly wrinkles, botox." Filia said rather smugly, feeling triumphant that she struck a nerve.

Xellos lightly lowered himself to the ground, his bangs hiding his eyes and a fist clenched at his side. Filia was starting to get a little worried by this point, slowly moving towards the door should she need to bolt.

"Oh _Fiiiliaaaa_? Why don't you come over _here_ and say that." Xellos said eerily, motioning with his finger for her to come towards him, his eyes still hidden in his purple fringe.

Filia was now officially spooked. She began to back out the door as she tried to utter a response, "Ah, actually…I think I'm...gonna go…explore…out…away from here…somewhere else…hehe." Filia nervously giggled as she backed out of the door. Once she was in the hall she sprinted down the hall as if her very life depended on it.

Xellos chuckled darkly into the room, "Oh dear Filia, you think you can run from me? Fine, let's see how far you get." Xellos then walked out of the room into the hall, catching sight of Filia's golden hair as it disappeared down the hall. Xellos took off on a light jog after her, it would be too easy and not much fun if he just teleported and caught her, so he thought he'll give her a fighting chance, looking forward to the thrill of the hunt.

Filia ran as fast as her legs could carry her, sweat trickling down her face and back as she ran to find a hiding place. She knew she couldn't outrun him, but she may be able to hide from him for a while. Filia noticed that she had run into the east wing and she had an idea. Locating the doors to the library she stopped and pushed as hard as she could against the doors. Slowly but surely the started to open until she could fit herself through the gap between them. She didn't even bother to try and close the doors again as she bolted to the other end of the library towards the garden, the candles lighting up as she ran.

When she got to the glass doors blocking her way to the garden she herd the library doors behind her bash open. She whipped her head around and saw Xellos standing in the doorway, his amethyst eyes focused solely on her. As Xellos began to slowly walk towards her Filia wrenched the glass doors open and sprinted out onto the patio. She leapt clear over the railing into the garden and headed straight for the maze she spotted earlier.

'I can lose him in the maze' she thought as she ran into the maze, her breaths coming in gasps as she quickly made her way through the maze, hopefully losing her pursuer in the process.

Xellos appeared at the entrance of the maze Filia just ran into. "My my Filia. First you think you can outrun me, now you think you can hide from me? Tsk tsk, well I guess I'll just have to show you how wrong you are my young dragon." Xellos said as he walked calmly into the maze.

Filia went in every direction possible. She turned left and right, she doubled back a few times and took as many possible trails as she could, hoping that Xellos would lose track of her. She ran into a dead end and decided she had to stop for a rest. She sat down and leaned her back against the hedge, trying to catch her breath and slow her pounding heart.

"Fiiliaaaa." Filia's head snapped up as she herd Xellos call her name. He sounded far off, and yet so close, too close. "Fi-chan, where are you Fi-chan? You can't hide from me forever you know." Filia started to panic. "I can smell your fear Filia, won't you come out and play?" Filia quickly stood up and started running again. Xellos smirked as he licked his lips, "I can taste your adrenalin Fi-chan, don't forget whose territory you're in little dragon." Xellos called as Filia felt another wave of panic course through her body as she ran down another trail. His voice seemed to be everywhere and no-where at the same time, completely surrounding her.

She rounded another corner and stopped dead in her tracks. There stood Xellos, his posture completely relaxed as he glared at her with his amethyst eyes glowing in the late afternoon sun. He chuckled, "I told you I would find you." Filia backed back out of the channel and ran into an adjacent route. However when she rounded another corner she was stopped by him again, this time he was hanging upside down, his face level with hers as she forced herself not to scream of fright. "Nope, try again." Xellos grinned as Filia again backtracked and took another route. Her heart sunk to her stomach when she realized she had run into a dead end. At the sound of approaching footsteps her heart rose back up into her throat when she realized she had nowhere else to run. She faced the entrance to the dead end, pulling her mace out as she waited to confront The Beastmaster Xellos.

A shadow began to form behind Filia, reaching out towards her unawares. Wisps of darkness slowly wrapped around her ankles as Filia continued to concentrate on the sound of the footsteps. The darkness then carefully wound itself around her wrists and waist. Then with a sudden jerk Filia felt herself being yanked backwards onto the hedge as the shadow tightened its hold on her, pinning her. Filia could feel her mace being taken from her hand as she struggle against the restraints that bound her in place. She herd a chuckle as Xellos materialized out of the shadow, genki smile firmly in place. Filia felt a sense of deja vu along with fear (and _excitement?_) as Xellos eyes glowed at the sight of her. "Gotcha!" Xellos exclaimed as he stared at Filia's still struggling form. "It's no use struggling Filia, I caught you, I won." Xellos said simply as Filia slowed her struggles, but she didn't stop.

"Yeah, because you cheated!" Filia retorted, still squirming slightly, but the bonds Xellos had used to catch her where still wound tight around her, she wasn't allowed much movement.

"How did I cheat? I merely used what comes naturally to me." Xellos said with a playful wink sent her way.

"I still think it's cheating" Filia mumbled as she looked away from Xellos's piercing eyes.

"Well whether you call it cheating or not really doesn't make a difference. I won and that's that, end of discussion." Xellos said as he crossed his arms.

It was then that Xellos noticed something strange. Filia was…laughing. At first it started of as a small giggle, then it quickly grew until Filia was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes as she subconsciously strained against the bonds he put on her. "What? Filia what is so funny?" (Hehe Déjà vu much?) Xellos asked as he looked at Filia as if she suddenly grew an extra head.

When Filia finally started to quiet down she let out a small sigh and looked at Xellos's puzzled features. "Where always fighting about something, aren't we?" it was more of a statement than an actual question.

Xellos gave a small smile of his own at her. "Yeah, I suppose we are. But you have to admit that's just what makes it more fun." Xellos said as he closed his eyes, returning to his usual trickster smile.

And Filia found that this was one of the rare things they where in complete agreement with. Now that she thought about it, life without her and Xellos's constant feuding seemed rather…dull.

"True. Now would you please let me go Xellos. It's getting kind of chilly and I'm famished." Filia said, indicating to the black bands of energy that still bound her to the hedge.

"Hmm you see, this is where we have a problem. You see Filia I really didn't appreciate that botox comment, so I think as punishment you can spend the night there. That sounds fare don't you think?" Xellos said with a sinister smile as he slowly turned around and started walking away, leaving Filia where she was.

"Oh ha-ha-ha Xellos, very funny. Now come back here and let me go." Xellos continued to walk away. "Xellos, hey wait! Xellos look if you want me to say I'm sorry then ok, I'm sorry, please just let me go. Xellos? XELLOS!!!!"

* * *

Hehehe, oh I'm so evil. So was it better this time? I hope you all liked that, this one was actually really fun to write, well the second half of it was anyway. Please let me know what you think. If it's ok with you guys can I get another 5 reviews to make it 55? I just love hearing from you, especially since half of those who have reviewed are now my friends, (HUGGIES TO ALL MY BUDDIES!!) XD


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I am sosososososo sorry guys for that long delay, I got like three assignments at once and I was like OMG! And I was stressing and crying and stressing again and there was a mental breakdown somewhere along the line but anyway….IM BACK! I now only have one assignment that's not due until next week, I'm half done and once that's finished IM DONE! (At least until exams) yay I'm so happy. But thank you guys for being so patient with me, now let's see if I can get back into the writing zone. (PS. I still don't own the Slayers) (PPS. This is another looong chappie; enjoy ;)) (PPPS. NEW CHARACTERS)

**Chapter 15**

Xellos could here Filia screaming at him from inside the maze as he walked out the same way he had entered. He chuckled slightly to himself before snapping his fingers.

Filia could not believe that Xellos had left her there! Tied up and defenceless. Just as she was thinking up some rather colourful words to describe Xellos, the scenery around her changed and she felt the bonds around her ankles, wrist and waist disappear. She then realized that she was back in her bedroom, the wall that she had destroyed was fixed and everything was exactly as she left it. Filia glanced over to the nightstand and saw that Val's egg was where she left it and unharmed. 'I can't believe I forgot about Val! I'm such a baka!' she scolded herself as she hurried over to Val, picking up his egg and making sure there was nothing wrong with him. "Thank goodness nothing happened to you" Filia said to the egg as she held it to her breast before lightly setting it back down in the comfort of its cushion.

Filia was about to sit on her bed when a distinct smell penetrated her senses. Filia located the source of the smell and found at the foot of her bed a small table with a platter of food and a glass of water. Roast chicken with baked potatoes, pumpkin, steamed carrots, peas and corn on the cob. Filia's mouth watered as she went to devour the food. But just as she was about to pick up the chicken she stopped herself. She looked around the room to make sure she was alone and returned her attention back to her food, studying it as if it would reveal the mysteries of the world to her. 'If that namagomi has done anything to this food so help me I'll shave that pretty head of his and use his hair as pom-poms.' Filia silently threatened as she inspected her food to make sure there were no bugs and nothing was moving. Satisfied that the food was safe she sat down on the edge of her bed, pulled the small table towards her and started eating.

The food was absolutely delicious. The chicken was tender and juicy, the potatoes baked to perfection, not too oily and not too dry. The pumpkin was mashed to just the right texture and the carrots, peas and corn where all excellent. Even the water was the freshest tasting water she had ever had. After Filia had finished her meal she leaned back with a satisfied sigh, patting her now full stomach. "Now I know how Miss Lina feels, both before and after a meal." Filia said to the empty room, well at least she _thought_ it was empty.

"See, what did I tell you? Face it, you're getting fat Filia." Xellos remarked as he appeared floating horizontally above Filia, his usual smile firmly in place.

"You namagomi!" Filia exclaimed as she made to slap him, unfortunately for her Xellos managed to teleport out of the way in time and re-appeared standing in front of her, waving one of his fingers at her.

"Tsk tsk, now Filia you know what they say, don't bite the hand that feeds you." Xellos said as he smirked down at her.

"Well you deserved it for leaving me tied up like that!" Filia retorted as she struggling slightly when she tried to sit up, she always found it hard to move on a full stomach.

"Now Filia it was just a spot of fun. Besides you weren't even left there that long, 10 minutes at most." Xellos said with a flippant motion of his hand.

"Hmph, I still think you're a jerk for doing it." Filia huffed as she crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"Well aren't you nice?" Xellos retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes and crossing his own arms.

"What do you mean by that!?" Filia exclaimed as she stood up, fists clenched at her sides.

"Oh nothing, just how you're always quick to call me namagomi, the constant violence and accusations. Yeah Filia, you're a _real_ nice person." Xellos retorted sarcastically as he leaned for ward slightly.

"Well can you blame me? Ever since day one you have gone out of your way to make my life a living hell. The constant teasing and jabs about me and my race, it's a wonder I haven't killed you yet!" Filia yelled, her face turning red with rage as she stepped up towards Xellos.

"Ha! As if you could ever hurt me! You're so slow a snail would have more chance of landing a blow than you ever could!" Xellos spat back, leaning forward with the force of the argument.

"Oh really!?" Filia leaned closer

"Really!" Xellos came closer still

For a split second they were practically nose to nose, both of them staring the other down. Then not knowing who moved first they were locked in a battle of the tongues as Xellos wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing her to him as she wound her own arms around his neck, fingers gripping his hair in a death grip.

The kiss seemed to last for eternity as they battled each other for dominance. Xellos brought one of his hands up to the base of her neck, grabbing a fistful of her hair and forcing her closer still while angling her head slightly to get better access. Filia herself had such a tight grip on Xellos's head and neck, had he been a mortal man she would have crushed him.

Finally they both reluctantly ended the kiss, but only because Filia needed to breath. When they parted Xellos stared intensely at Filia's flushed features as she fought to catch her breath.

"Namagomi" Filia panted in a whisper.

"Lizard lips" Xellos replied just as softly.

For the next few minutes they stayed that way, still gripping onto each other with their foreheads resting together as Filia managed to get her breathing under control. Xellos then gently brought Filia's head underneath his chin and started stroking her long soft hair, while Filia began to play with the bottom of Xellos's own hair. The pair seemed to be content to just stay still and enjoy the embrace while it lasted.

"You should really go to sleep now" Xellos said softly as he disengaged the embrace and started to lead Filia to the bed. All Filia did was nod as she let Xellos lie her down on the bed and pull the covers over her.

Filia rolled onto her side facing Xellos as he patted her head and started walking out of the room. "Goodnight namagomi." Filia yawned as he reached the door.

Xellos paused just before he closed the door and looked over his shoulder, "Goodnight lizard lips." he said as he blew out the candles with magic and shut the door.

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"Any questions Xellos?" Zelas asked from her usual throne, bringing her cigarette to her lips. Blowing O rings into the air.

"Just one, mistress Zelas." Xellos replied, his face taking on a green tinge as he voiced his question. "Why are you doing this to me?" he all but whined.

"Because I can, and to teach you a lesson you will not forget. Now go, I will hear no more of your whining." Zelas commanded as she blew a puff of smoke at Xellos's now bowing form.

"H-hai, Mistress." Xellos stuttered as he left to the mission that was assigned to him; this was _not_ going to be fun.

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Filia's eyes started to flutter open as the midday sun streamed in through the lavender curtains. As she yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes she rose from the bed and made her way to the window and pulled back the drapes. Sunlight flooded the room and Filia had to shield her eyes until they adjusted to the sudden intense light. "Strange, I've never slept this late before." Filia shrugged to herself and proceeded to get dressed for the day.

After she was fully dressed she grabbed Val's basket and set out to wander the castle. She walked down the hall and strait through the intersection, heading into the east wing. "Hmm, it should be right about…here!" Filia came face to face with the door to the library. She had wanted to go exploring it ever since Xellos had shown it to here. All that knowledge stored in one place was almost too much for her curious mind to resist.

She set down Val's basket and rubbed her hand together, pulling up her sleeves and placing her hands against one of the doors. Using all her weight and strength she slowly pushed the door open with a hearty grunt. "How is it that Xellos can make this look so easy!? This door must weigh two tones!" Filia exclaimed as she picked up Val's basket again and headed inside the library, the candles already lit when she entered the door.

"Where do I even start?" Filia pondered to herself as she looked around the room, still not quite getting over the size of the place.

"How about at the start." A voice sounded to her left. She let out a small scream as she quickly whipped her head around towards the voice, frantically looking for its source.

"Who said that? Who's there?" Filia asked, her tone slightly shaky.

"Up here goldie." Filia looked up and half way up one of the nearby bookshelves she spotted it. Filia would say it looked more like a neon blue bluebird blown up to half her height. However this 'birdie' had talons as long as her fingers and a beak so sharp it could probably cut through stone. Its eyes where pure black with no sign of any pupils as it stared at her from its spot on the edge of the shelf. "Well it's about time you got here. I was starting to wonder if we where ever going to meet face to face." The bird spoke again, its voice sounding rather feminine.

"Who are you?" Filia asked, taking a cautious step backwards.

"You don't need to worry, I'm not going to eat you, Xellos' would likely kill me if I even as much as scratch you. My name's Kerryane. And you must be Filia." the bird then spread its wings as it jumped off the shelf, flapping as it made its descent. As soon as the bird touched the ground, it was enveloped in a startling blue flash, then in its place stood a girl who could be no older than 16. She had neon blue hair that came roughly to her shoulders and was tied back into a ponytail except for a portion of her fringe that was parted down the side and tucked behind her ears. She had bright pink eyes and dark olive skin. She wore a pair of black, form fitting shorts with a silver belt and a hot pink sleeveless top, a small black cape reaching her mid calf clasped around her neck.

"How do you know who I am? I've never seen you before." Filia asked warily, clasping Val's basket closer to her chest.

"Ha. As if the scent you're giving off wasn't enough proof. You stink of everything Xellos. And the whole island knows that Xellos has chosen a mate named Filia, and you're the only stranger here smelling of him." Kerryane stated as she checked her nails, polishing them on her shirt. "Although I don't recall the servants saying that you where a dragon, now that is a surprise." She said as she looked at Filia, sizing her up.

"Um, are you one of Beastmasters' creatures? You look rather young" Filia asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at the girl.

"Well of course I am. And thank you, I do try and look after myself." Kerryane said as she closed her eyes and smile at Filia. "Hmm, now if I recall you wanted to explore the library huh? Well I'm no help to you there; I hardly ever come in here. Although my sister might be able to help you navigate this place. Honestly she practically lives in here. It's all Beastmaster and the rest of us can do to get her out and do her missions." Kerryane said, exasperation clear in her tone.

"Hehe, right." Filia said sweatdropped, she had a feeling this was going to be an interesting day. "So Kerryane, who is this sister of yours?" Filia asked wanting to know the name of her 'library tour guide'.

"Ah well, her name's Samantherumakash, but just call her Sam, it's easier to remember and she prefers that name anyway." Kerryane said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "Oh yeah. I would also prefer it if you just call me Kerry. And I should probably warn you that there are another two in this family. There is Raychella, just call her Ray, and last and most certainly least is Deanandoey, call him Dean. I'll leave you to figure out what they're like because frankly I can't be stuffed giving you descriptions all day." Kerry said as she rolled her eyes and walked past Filia.

After a short distance Kerry stopped and from nowhere pulled out a giant blow horn and took a deep breath. "SAM! FRONT ENTRANCE! WE NEED A TOUR GUIDE! GET YOUR ASS HERE NOW!" Kerry then casually put away the horn and walked back towards a stunned Filia, her ears still ringing from the loud command. "She'll be here in a sec, have fun, if that's even possible in this place." Was all Kerry said as she transformed back into a bird and flew out the still open door, leaving behind a dizzy Filia clutching Val's basket in a white knuckle grip, waiting for a monster to give her a tour of the library.

After what had seemed like hours to Filia, but in fact had only been 1 minute, she herd a strange sound coming from with in the many isles of shelves. It was almost a scratching noise with a soft thump. Like whatever was making the sound had long claws that where scraping the ground as it walked. Then suddenly the sound started to quicken, it also was getting closer. Filia became somewhat nervous as she looked down the isle she though the sound was coming from. Then the sound was coming from behind her. She turned around to try and spot whatever was down there, she saw nothing. Then it was coming from beside her, then her other side, then above her, and behind her again. Everytime the sound changed location Filia would whip her head around desperately trying to spot whatever was stalking her, the noise all the while getting closer and closer until Filia could hear the running monsters breath. But the suddenly it stopped. There was no running, no scratching, no breathing, nothing. The silence was just as nerve wracking as the noise. It completely enveloped her to the point where she feared she would scream from the intensity of it.

"L-sama!" Filia, her nerves already worn thin, jumped three feet in the air and shrieked at the sudden voice. "It's an ancient dragon egg! I thought these things went extinct 1000 years ago." Filia spun around so fast her head was spinning as she finally caught sight of the owner of the voice standing a short distance behind her, _holding Val's egg!_

Filia let out another scream when she saw her egg in the hands of an unknown female monster, fear gripping her chest, sending her heart into her throat and causing her gut to twist to the point of nausea. "What are you doing!? Give him back to me now!" Filia screeched as she made a dash for the girl, attempting to snatch the egg back. The girl simply leaped out of harms way over Filia's head and landed roughly where Filia was standing a few seconds ago.

"Oh would you take a chill pill and relax. I'm not going to drop him; I just wanted to take a look at him that's all. Geez talk about jumping to conclusions." The girl said as she held the egg up to the light and examined it more closely.

When Filia finally managed to pull herself up from the floor she turned around to face the newcomer and actually took notice of what she looked like. She looked roughly about the same age as Kerry from earlier, although maybe a little bit older. She had jet black hair with white streaks near the top of her head, forming a sort of a natural triangle in her hair. It was about mid shoulder blade in length and plaited from the back of her head all the way down. She had stormy grey eyes with swirls of blue and olive skin, not as tanned as the first one, but not too far off either. She wore a long sleeved black shirt with red trimmings and baggy pants very similar to what Xellos wears, also with red trimmings. She however did not have a cape. Instead she had fastened to her back what looked like a long fighting stick with red bindings on its centre. Filia found herself a bit more wary of this one than she did with Kerry, but that could be because she is the first she has seen to be armed with a weapon. Usually she wouldn't count a stick as being too much trouble, especially one so feeble looking, but she learned her lesson from Xellos that in the hands of a monster a simple feather could probably be used to bring about the deaths of many enemies.

Filia slowly and cautiously began to walk towards the girl as she was measuring the egg with the tweezer things that doctors use to measure a persons head and write something in a nearby floating book, muttering to herself as she wrote. "I'm guessing that you're the one that was called for, Sam is it?" Filia questioned, still slowly moving towards the girl.

"Yep, that's me. Oh that reminds me where is that bird brain any way? Honestly what part of 'Library, please be quiet' is so hard to comprehend!? I was in the middle of very important research and she goes and wrecks my concentration." Sam raved as the floating book slammed shut and disappeared with the writing utensils in a brief flash of light, leaving Sam standing with nothing but the egg in hand.

"Uhh, she actually left a while ago, as soon as she called you." Filia said, Sam's sudden outburst freezing her steps.

"Arg! When I get my hands on her I'll chop her head off, then sit back and watch as her neck spurts blood and she runs around like the headless chicken that she is." (AN: this is actually what happens. Chop off a chickens head and the body will run around for about an hour spurting blood before it finally dies. Once you get pass the blood and gore it's actually quite funny to watch ;)) Sam said with an evil cackle.

"Heh, riiight." Filia sweatdropped as she waited for Sam to finish with her cackling. "Um anyway Sam, can I please have my egg back now." Filia said as she held her hand out expectantly.

"What? Oh yeah, right" Sam said as she brought herself back to earth and handed the egg over to Filia. A sigh of relief escaped Filia's lips as she held the egg to her chest for a few seconds then replaced it back in its resting place, making a small mental note to keep a better eye on it in the future.

"Well anyway, I herd you needed a tour guide. So shall we begin?" Sam said as she gestured towards the whole library.

"Alright. So where do we start?" Filia asked as they both started waling together.

"Well to start off, the place is divided in half. One half is fiction, and the other is non-fiction, following so far?"

"Yes, go on."

"Ok, so how about we start in the non-fiction, that way I can continue my research and you can wander about without me having to hold your hand for you."

"HEY!"

"I'm just saying." Sam said, holding her hands up in surrender.

The pair walked on for about ten minutes. Sam describing the basic layout of the library and how the books are arranged in alphabetical order by their subjects. They finally arrived at an isle where there was a wooden table with a bench and a small pile of books and hand written notes scattered all along one side, evidently this is where Sam was before she was called for guide duty.

"Ok, well your free to browse around this section, just as long as you don't disturb me while I'm reading, understand?"

"Sure, no problem." Filia replied

For the next half an hour Filia simply browsed the whole isle, not straying too far from where Sam was just in case she got herself lost. Sometimes she would pick up a book that looked interesting and skim through it before tiring of it and putting it back on the shelf.

Then one particular book caught Filia's eye, _Basics to rasing an ancient dragon, 1__st__ edition, by Helga Bowls._ Filia's eyes lit up as she pulled the dusty book from the shelf. 'Yes! Now I don't have to go into this thing blind! This is fantastic!' Filia thought to herself as she went over to the bench where Sam was buried under a mountain of books and sat down the other end. She opened the book and started skimming the contents page, finding a page she wanted she settled down and started to read.

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So, am I back in the zone or do I still have a bit to go? I hope this was worth the wait and I am so sorry again, in the future I'll try and not do that again but I realistically can't make any promises, but I will still try. MY SPECIAL CYBER COOKIES WITH YELLOW FROSTING AND PURPLE SPRINKLES TO ANY AND ALL THAT REVIEW, THANK YOU!

(PS, it may be a short while before the next chappie as I still do have one assignment left, sorry -.-)


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Dear Santa, for Christmas this year I would like a new phone, my own bedroom, and the deed to owning the Slayers, thank you.

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**Chapter 16**

Xellos teleported into his study and collapsed onto the pile of cushions near his desk. "L-sama, I think I'm going to be sick." Xellos groaned, his face a sickly green as he clenched his hand over his mouth. "Ugh, I need to take a jump in the lake; I can't believe I had to do that." Xellos complained to himself as he arose from the cushions and made his way out the back door of his study and outside into the late afternoon sun. Spotting the lake a bit off to the side he leaned his staff against the wall and, without even taking his shoes off, ran full pelt and dove straight into the freezing water, creating a big _splash_.

After around 5 minutes Xellos finally rose out of the lake and pulled himself out onto the shore. "Ahhh, that feels much better." Xellos said to himself as he walked back to where he placed his staff, leaving a wet trail of footsteps behind him. He then picked up his staff and walked back inside. "Hmm, maybe Filia can help me forget this traumatic experience, now where did she…ahh, there she is." Xellos said to himself as he found Filia's energy signature in the main library, along with someone else.

"Oh no, not Sam, anyone but Sam" Xellos then concentrated on the other ones signature. "Shit it's her. Why me L-sama?" Xellos said with slumped shoulders as he teleported to where Filia was.

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Filia was nearly half way through her book when there was a ripple of air beside her and then Xellos was there. As soon as Xellos appeared before the two women Sam looked up from her towers of books and burst out laughing. Filia managed to tear her eyes away from the chapter she was reading to see what Sam found so funny and found herself trying desperately to stop the giggle fit that was bubbling to the surface. Xellos was dripping wet. His hair was flat and stuck to his face and very mattered looking. His clothes looked heavy with water and his cloak looked like it was about to drop off his shoulders. At Sam's outburst Filia could swear she saw Xellos physically twitch and his grip on his staff tighten as a scowl made its way on his features.

"Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up, after all…" Xellos grinned evilly as he teleported behind Sam. "It is fun to get wet, don't you agree?" Xellos smirked as he ringed his cloak onto Sam and some of her nearby books.

"HEY! YOU BASTARD! NOT THE BOOKS, NOT THE BOOKS!" Sam screeched as she attempted to cover her precious books with her body, using the dry parts of her shirt to pat them dry.

"Xellos that's not nice. What did the books ever do to you?" Filia remarked as she glared at Xellos.

"Aww, but Fi-chan," Xellos said as he teleported behind her, lifting her up from her chair and hugging her from behind, soaking her back in the process. "Don't you think that its fun to get wet? Veeerry weeeet?" Xellos purred in her ear as he held her middle, one hand sliding down to her hip and the other up to the side of her breast.

Filia's face blushed scarlet as a small shiver wracked her body, although not entirely from the cold now soaking through her cloths. "Xe…Xellos! You perv. Let go!" Filia exclaimed as she struggled against his hold before he finally let her go, a smirk firmly planted on his lips.

"You enjoyed it." Xellos remarked as he stared at her with his closed eyes.

"Yuck, I'm standing right here you know!" Sam said as she pulled a look of irritation at the pair, still attempting to dry the water off her work. "Hehe, judging by the fact that you're still dripping wet and so clingy to Filia, I'm guessing you got the old man Craig mission" Sam said as she gave her own evil smirk to Xellos, who visibly cringed at the statement.

"That's none of your business bitch." Xellos retorted, anger lacing his tone.

"Xellos!" Filia scolded

"But she is!" Xellos replied

"It's alright Filia. I actually am a bitch, and proud of it too." Sam said as she poked her tongue out at Xellos, who in turn poked his own out at her.

"Oh. Well that still doesn't give you the right to be angry at her Xellos. What is the 'old man Craig mission' anyway?" Filia asked as she looked at Xellos, expecting an answer from him.

Xellos shuddered again as he turned his head away from her. "I'd rather not talk about it." Xellos said.

"Xellos." Filia probed.

"Hehe, I'll tell her! Basically there's this really old guy, around 50 to 100 years old, which lives in Atlas city. He's the guild director for Atlas city and hence is the keeper of most of the magical knowledge in that area. In most cases the information he gives us is quite useful, the only hitch is, he's usually very tight lipped about them." Sam said, trying to keep a straight face as she spoke, but failing almost miserably.

"Ok, but what's that got to do with Xellos being soaked?" Filia asked, not quite making the connection between the Atlas City guild director and Xellos's dripping form.

"Hehehe, now that's the funny part. You see old man Craig only likes men, especially the younger ones. So Xellos here..." she gestured towards the gloomy Xellos, "has to seduce him with his 'oh so dashing charms' to get the information we need. The rest I think you can work out on your own." Sam said smugly as she sat back down and put her arms behind her head.

"Oooh," Filia said as realisation dawned on her. 'So Xellos had to seduce the guild director enough to trust him with some of his knowledge'. She looked towards Xellos, a blank look on his features. "Ew." Filia said. 'And judging by the fact that he keeps shuddering at the mention of the name, he probably doesn't like it that much either. So what he tries to drown himself or something!'

"Are you quite finished yet? Don't you have something else to do somewhere else?" Xellos confronted Sam with a glare.

"In order, I suppose so, yes and no." Sam replied calmly from her chair, her nose turned up defiantly at Xellos. "This is MY library and I am doing MY research, so I should be asking YOU those questions, since even though I find this whole scene friggen HILARIOUS, I have other things to do, so if you don't mind you can take your dragon and scram!" Sam then caught sight of Filia's appalled expression. "Please." She added to Filia as more of an afterthought.

"As you wish _Sammy moo_!" Xellos said with a chuckle as Sam went rigged in her chair and her face turned scarlet.

"Get. Out. Now." Sam said in a deadly whisper.

"Hehe, very well. Come on Filia, we'll get you something to eat." Xellos said as he turned his back and started to walk away.

"Oh wait Xellos. Sam is it ok if I take this book with me? I'm not done reading it. Please?" Filia asked politely, indicating the book she now had clasped in her hands.

"WHAT! You want to remove a book from the library! What makes you think…" Filia gave Sam the most pleading look she could give, adding a slight pout in her lips for effect. "Oh no you don't! I INVENTED the puppy dog look before you where even BORN!" Filia continued to pout, her eyes expanding to twice their size and watering slightly. Sam scowled at Filia, letting out a small growl as she snatched the book from Filia. Filia watched as she opened the front cover and pulled a big librarian stamp out of nowhere and started stamping the front and back page and writing something on a small piece of paper that she stuck on the inside of the back cover. "The date it's due back is at the back. I'm warning you if I find one ink spill, one page crease, I'll make you wish you never set foot in my library." Sam threatened as she handed the book back to Filia, her face lighting up as she took the book back.

"Thank you Sam, I will take good care of it, I promise." Filia said with a bow.

"Yeah whatever, just get out of here and leave me to my work already. I've already wasted enough time as it is." Was the last thing that she said before burying herself back into her books, leaving Xellos and Filia to escort themselves out of the library.

"Xellos, what exactly is she researching anyway?" Filia asked as they both left the library, the giant doors closing behind them.

"Only L-sama knows what. For all we know she might not be researching at all. More than once we've caught her engrossed in a horror book or two when she's supposed to be gathering information." Xellos said as he rolled his eyes, heading down the hallway and into one of the nearby kitchens.

The one they walked into was a decent size; it had a simple stove and oven with a small grey bench separating the kitchen area from a small dining section that had a small table with four wooden chairs.

Almost as if by habit, Xellos made his way to one of the chairs facing side on with the bench and sat down as Filia made her way behind the bench to look for the tea pot and cups in the numerous cupboards under the bench and over the stove.

"The tea pot's under the sink and the cups are under the bench." Xellos said as Filia went and retrieved the items from their places. She filled the tea pot with water and proceeded to make the two of them some tea. While she was waiting for the water to boil Filia found some bread and made herself a salad sandwich. All the while Xellos had been watching her intensely through closed eyes. He couldn't help but wonder if this is what it was going to be like after he marked Filia. Would their lives go back to normal, with him popping in every couple of weeks, Filia would make him some tea, they talk, and then he leaves again?

Or would it be different? Would she expect him to spend more time with her? Would he make her leave all that she knows and loves to stay here on Wolf Pack Island with him? Xellos was brought out of his thoughts when Filia set the cup of tea down in front of him and took the seat that was facing away from the bench next to him, setting down her own cup and her sandwich down on the table. They remained in content silence for a few minutes, silently drinking their teas, Filia quietly munching on her sandwich until she finished the last bite. When she had wiped her mouth of any stray crumbs she finally broke the silence that hung in the air.

"So. What's your favourite colour?" Filia asked, raising the teacup to her lips and taking a delicate sip.

"Excuse me?" Xellos said, slightly bewildered.

"I said, what's your favourite colour?" Filia replied calmly as she set her cup back down and looked towards him.

"Uh, I think it might be either red or blue." Xellos answered.

"Really? I though it would have been purple." Filia replied in surprise.

"What gave you that idea? If anything purple is more of my signature colour. Then again red and blue make purple so I guess that would count. Why do you ask?" Xellos asked as he stared at Filia questioningly.

"Remember the whole reason why I'm here Xellos. To learn more about you. And the only way I'm going to be able to do that is if I ask you questions. So, how old are you?"

"That's a rather personal question isn't it?" Xellos remarked, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms.

"Just answer the question Xellos." Filia retorted irritably.

"Hmph, 1015 approximately." Xellos said as he turned his head away in a huff. "Give or take a decade."

Filia's eyes widened slightly at this new piece of information. "Wow, you really are old aren't you?" Filia said in astonishment.

"Oh yeah? How old are you then dear Filia?" Xellos replied sarcastically, raising one eyebrow towards her.

"Huh, I'll have you know I'm only 519 years old, you're practically double my age, so _there_!" Filia said, crossing her arms, an air of victory about her.

"And you already have the first sign of wrinkles, pity. I wonder what you would look like in another couple of decades." Xellos said more to himself than to her, tapping a finger on his chin in thought. Filia's eye twitched as Xellos struck a nerve. Being a female she was naturally very conscious about her appearance. 'Control, control, just ignore it and drink your tea, breath, in, out, in, out.' Filia chanted in her mind as she fought to stop herself from physically lashing out at him.

"Next question please. How does a monster go about selecting a mate anyway? What, what made you choose me?" Filia asked as she set her cup back down on the wooden table. Filia found it difficult to look at Xellos after she voiced her last question, instead opting to stare into her reflection in her cup.

"Ahh, I was beginning to wonder when this question would come up." Xellos said, scratching behind his head nervously. "You see it's somewhat complex. Bringing it down to its very base line, most mazoku go into I guess you could call it a mating season. When this takes place, no one actually knows, nor do they know how often so it makes things a little bit tricky for most mazoku." Xellos explained, Filia hanging off his every word trying to absorb all this new information. "During this brief period a mazoku will form a type of bond with almost any creature that shows direct affection towards them. Although there is a bit more to it than that, certain…circumstances have to be in place in order for a bond to be formed, without this a true bond cannot be formed, only a weaker form of the bond is shared and the effectiveness is much less and for a shorter time." Xellos explained in the simplest way he could while still not giving too many details that could expose all the monster races secrets.

"I see. Um, Xellos. Which a…bond, do…we… have?" Filia asked, openly fidgeting in her seat as she looked away from his studying gaze. She was feeling very nervous and anxious at this point, worried what his answer would be.

Xellos smiled softly as he watched her shift around in her seat. "What? Are you worried that this is just a temporary bond? Why Filia I never knew you cared for me that much." Xellos gently teased as he reached over and gently turned her chin so she was facing him. "I never said I was worried, I was just curious if this was going to be a permanent thing or not." Filia countered, although it came out in a quieter whisper than what she originally intended. Xellos chuckled slightly as he stroked his thumb along her jaw, his eyes following its movements. "I'm afraid you can't get out that easy. Ours is a true bond, face it. You're stuck with me." Xellos humoured as he withdrew his hand and leaned back into his seat, leaving Filia slightly shocked and flushed as she slowly leaned back into her own seat, running Xellos's words and their implications over again and again in her mind.

Least to say Filia was somewhat relieved that this wouldn't be a _phase_ that he would eventually grow out of. But now she had other questions on her mind. What did that mean for her life back home? How was this going to affect them in the long run? One particular question seemed to be nagging her at the front of her mind. What are the 'circumstances' that make a true bond? Filia's mind was running a mile a minute trying to think of possible answers. She looked at Xellos's relaxed form as he watched her puzzled expression. 'What makes me so special?' She thought to herself. She took a breath to steady her nerves and was about to voice her question when Xellos suddenly went rigid and sat straight up, his head cocked to the side as if he were listening for something. "Mistress is calling me. I'm sorry Fi-chan but we have to cut this session short for now." He said as he rose from his seat and retrieved his staff. "I best be going now, you should be alright getting back to the room from here." He said as he made his way to the door. "Xellos, wait." Filia said as he was turning the door knob. He opened the door and turned his upper body to face her, waiting for her to speak.

"I just want to know, when you will be back." She said as she stood from her chair.

Xellos smiled at her curious face, "I'm not sure. I'll get back when I get back." He replied simply as he turned around and started walking out the door. "Don't stay up too late Fi-chan, wouldn't want you sleeping most of the day again." Xellos called back as he walked out the door and down the hall. Filia hurried around the table and through the door way of the kitchen staring down the hallway that Xellos had walked down. By the time she had arrived there however he was already gone, not a trace of him left. 'Figures' Filia thought to her self as she retrieved Val and her book and walked down the same hallway Xellos had disappeared from.

'I guess this is how it's always going to be. Never knowing when he's going to be around, never knowing when the next summons will come. Never knowing if he was going to come back.' Filia felt a slight stab in her chest as her thoughts turned dark. What if one day Xellos never came back? Filia's heart jumped into her throat and her eyes stung as she considered this possibility. She didn't know what she would do if she could never see him again. Never be able to have tea with him. To never hear his teasing remarks and his snide comments. Filia shook her head in an attempt to clear away the negative thoughts. 'What am I thinking? This is Xellos we're talking about. He's one of the most powerful mazoku to exist aside from the five mazoku lords. Nothing could possibly prevent him from returning from his missions. Even Miss Lina would be severely challenged if she were to fight against him.' Filia tried to convince herself as she walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed, setting Val and the book beside her. Filia felt confident that Xellos would always find a way to return, but still.

To get her mind off depressing thoughts Filia reached over and picked up the book that she gad borrowed from Sam. She opened the book, this time starting from the first page and started to read. _Chapter One, A New life._

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"Mistress, may I inquire as to why _she_ has to come as well?" Xellos asked from his bowed position before his mistress.

"She has stayed in my home for over three days now. Granted the first few days she was injured. But after that she's living under my roof and eating my food. It's about time she earned her keep while she's here." Zelas replied as she swirled her wine glass between her fingertips, the dark red liquid inside leaving small stains on the sides.

"As you command my mistress." Xellos said as he bowed a bit lower and made to leave the throne room.

"Oh and Xellos dear." Zelas called out. Xellos instantly halted his steps and turned to face his mistress. "Yes mistress Zelas?" Xellos replied

"Only tell her what she needs to know. She does not need to know why she is going. Make sure she is ready in a timely fashion. Understood?" Zelas said, a slight smirk gracing her lips,

"Yes Ma-am." Xellos bowed again and left the room.

'What has she got planned now!'

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Oooooo, things are about to get interesting. I wonder how Filia will react to this one. Ok guys I have a thought. Either I can live up to my pen name and ask for 6 reviews before I start typing the next chappie. Or I can be the sweet one and ask nicely for 2 reviews. I've decided for the middle ground. I will start typing now, and I would love 4 reviews before the next chappie goes up, if you can please. I'll still probably put the next chappie up without the reviews, it just goes up faster if I get them :P

So please if you love me, hate me, wanna get something off your chest, just press that little button down there -V- and leave a comment please, Thank You!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Howdy all! Sorry about the late update, I've been studying for exams, and with my little sister in and out of hospital, things have just been a mess. This one is another long-ish one, I had originally planned for this whole chapter to be Filia's mission, but found that it was going to be way too long so I had to split the mission into two chapters. Chapter 18 should be up shortly, depending how my little sister is doing and how my studies are holding up, thank you all for being so patient with me, it means a lot ^_^. As usual I do not own the Slayers.

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**Chapter 17**

Xellos stood over the sleeping Filia, her face twisted in fear and sadness as he watched her squirm under the covers, muttering in her sleep. Xellos breathed in deeply, feeding off the emotions that she was emanating; fear, confusion, sadness, despair, anger. Xellos opened his piercing eyes as he knelt beside her head and smoothed her hair out of her face. At the touch she stopped squirming, but her face remained strained and her muttering did not cease. "No…..run Val…stop….Xel…" Filia's tone was pleading as sweat began to cover her forehead. "What's got you so upset little one?" Xellos thought aloud as he rose from his spot near the bed. He then held his staff horizontally over Filia, the red orb positioned over her face. "Now let's see what all this fuss is about." Xellos said as the orb began to shine a bright blue, bathing Filia's face in its glow.

_Blood, there was blood everywhere. Blood and the smell of rotting corpses. Xellos looked at his surroundings, he knew this place, he knew this _time_. "It's The War of the Monsters' Fall" Xellos observed, remembering the carnage and destruction with crystal clarity. He looked towards the sky, the evidence of his assumption proven as the clouds glowed a deep red with hundreds of dragons scattered throughout the heavens. "Ah the good old times" Xellos smirked to himself as he witnessed a battalion of black and gold dragons get shot down and plummet towards the unforgiving earth. Xellos could almost taste the anger and fear that he used to gorge himself on, but not anymore. It was just a memory now, 'a memory Filia should not have. Why is she dreaming of the Great War? This was far before her time.' Xellos pondered as he began to search for Filia._

_After what had seemed like hours he finally spotted her. she was surrounded by the ghosts of her elder dragons from her times in the Fire Temple, hunched over a dragon hatchling with green hair, which Xellos recognised as the young Val before he was converted by Gaav. "You filth, traitor to your own kind. How dare you call yourself a dragon. Repent now and your soul might be saved. Hand them over, now!" the ghost dragons cried in unison as the circled her, slowly closing in. "No, I wont, you can't have them!" Filia shouted as she embraced the young Val tighter to her chest, trying to shield him from the ghost dragons' sight as he sobbed into her cloths, clinging to her neck._

"_Do not meddle in things you know nothing about. The Ancient dragons were a threat to the world, what needed to be done was done. Xellos is of the monster race, their soul purpose is to destroy the world and nothing more. Do not let yourself be fooled by his trickery. Admit to your sins and repent now!" the dragons continued to speak as one, steadily circling Filia and Val faster as they got closer._

"_You're wrong!" Filia kept her voice strong. "The Ancient dragons were a peaceful race. You slaughtered them because they refused to fight in the war, they didn't disserve this!" Filia cried out, making eye contact with every one of the dragons as they circled her._

"_What about the monster? Look around you girl, see for yourself what that vile creation has done, leaving nothing but fear and destruction and death in his wake. If you do not change your ways, this will happen to you as well. He is mazoku; he can never feel any attachment to anything. He will merely use and manipulate you to his evil desires, then cast you out and leave you for dead." Filia shook her head as small tears began to trickle down her face. "No, no you're wrong. I don't believe you…" Filia cried out, the tears now flowing freely down her face._

'_**If you need me, then call for me**__' Filia herd a voice speak in her mind that was not her own. "What?" Filia asked out loud as she looked around herself, trying to spot whoever had spoken to her, her heart racing at the hope that it was him. '__**I will not help you unless you ask for it. If you need my help, then tell me**__' the voice spoke again. Filia gasped in shock as she recognised Xellos's voice over the roars of the circling dragons._

"_Xellos." Filia raised her head, staring straight ahead with tears still flowing down her features. "Xellos, please…Xellos I need you!" Filia shouted as the dragons stopped circling and charged directly for her and Val. Suddenly inches before the dragons made contact a black bubble appeared around Filia and Val, launching all the dragons away from the pair with a immense blast, creating a huge crater where the pair still clung to each other. Standing before Filia was Xellos, his back towards her and his staff held out in front of him as he surveyed the area. "Xellos, you…you came." Filia could not keep the astonishment from her voice as she stared at the back of his head, patting Val's own mane to calm him down._

_Xellos looked at Filia over his shoulder. "What? Thought I wasn't going to make it? You have such little faith in me Fi-chan." Xellos smirked as he walked over to where She and Val crouched, kneeling down to them and placing a hand on Val's small shoulder. The hatchling pulled his head out of Filia's chest and looked at the purple haired monster, curiosity in his golden eyes that still shined from the tears. "Hey little guy, you're alright now. Come on, I'll look after you." Xellos soothed the young Val as he took him from Filia and stood up. Val from his spot in the monsters arms looked sternly into his face, his eyes searching. Then a small smile started to work its way onto his face as her wrapped his arms around Xellos's neck and rested his head onto his shoulder. Filia noticed that Xellos's face showed that of surprise when Val had embraced him, but then it faded into a small smile of his own as he patted the boys back in reassurance, nuzzling his head slightly against his smaller one._

_Xellos then looked down at Filia, who had not risen from her position on the ground, too stunned by Xellos's uncharacteristic behaviour. He smiled a bit more widely at her as he extended his hand. "Need a hand?" he asked as he held his free hand out to her, the other arm still holding Val to himself. Filia looked at the offered hand, then back up to Xellos's smiling face and Val's head still cuddled into his shoulder. She looked back to his hand and one last glance up to his face, a smile of her own spreading across her face as she grasped his hand._

…

Filia shot awake to the sound of knocking at the door. Rubbing her eyes of sleep she sat up and yawned widely, stretching her arms up above her head. "Who is it?" she called out as she drowsily pushed the covers off her frame and put her legs over the side of the bed, getting up to find her robe.

"The candle stick maker, who do you think it is?" Xellos called out in humour as he waited outside the door for Filia to answer. This mornings dream viewing had left Xellos slightly drained of energy, so he was leaning rather heavily against his staff as he worked to regain his strength. 'Whatever charm that has been cast upon her was not the work of an amateur. The last time I was this drained was when I was injured by Gaav.' Xellos thought to himself as he tried to puzzle out this new development. 'who would want to put a spell on Filia to give her nightmares? And why?' As far as Xellos knew Filia didn't really have that many enemies, the only possible culprits would either be another mazoku, or the dragon race. 'Hmm, I wonder if anyone besides the late Elder Lortus knew of Filia and the egg.' Xellos acknowledged this as a high possibility, seeing as the dragon race would want to make sure the job was done, and as they say many hands make light work. If this was so then he was going to have to figure out who is causing Filia's nightmares and terminate their operations.

Xellos was shaken out of his thoughts as Filia opened the bedroom door, clad in a fluffy blue robe 'It matches her eyes well' Xellos thought to himself as he gave Filia his signature genki smile. "Good morning Fi-chan, sleep well?" Xellos asked as he surveyed the slight bags under her eyes.

"Not particularly, but I've survived on worse. Why are you here so early Xellos, it's barely dawn." Filia questioned as she eyed Xellos from the doorway.

"Ah you see we're going out today. So I need you to quickly get changed into something nice, we're kind of on a schedule." Xellos said.

"Oh? Where are we going?" Filia asked with curiosity.

"It's a surprise. Come on now, we're wasting daylight." Xellos ushered.

"Alright, alright I'm going." Filia replied irritably as she closed the door and went about picking out her out fit.

Filia filtered through the small wardrobe that she had with her. 'It would help if he told me where we were going' Filia thought in irritation when she couldn't make up her mind on what to wear. After a bit more rifling she found her turquoise dress near the back of her closet. It was a modest dress showing a small section of cleavage with frilly lace lining the short sleeves and bottom of the dress, which puffed out into a sort of skinny bell shape and ended at her knees. "I guess this will do fine" Filia said as she changed into the gown and found her matching high heels. Observing herself in the mirror Filia gave a definite nod in approval at her appearance. Quickly putting on a small amount of make up on, she grabbed Val's basket and opened her door to Xellos. When she opened the door she found him leaning against the door frame snoring overly loudly. "Ahem." Filia cleared her throat to get his attention. Xellos made a startled grunt as he raised himself off the door frame and shook his head.

"Oh you're ready. Sorry you just took so long that I decided to take a nap while I waited for next year." Xellos remarked as he ducked below the mace that was aimed at his head, missing it by a hairs breadth.

"You namagomi, have some patience. You didn't exactly tell me where we were going so it took me longer to figure out what to wear," Filia replied irritably as she put her mace away.

Xellos stood up properly again after he was sure Filia wasn't going to strike out at him again and noticed that she was carrying Val again. "Ah Fi-chan, we can't take him." Xellos said, indicating the egg that she carried. Filia looked between Xellos and Val with pure shock when Xellos told her she couldn't take him.

"What do you mean 'we can't take him'? We can't NOT take him. The book I'm reading says that he could literally hatch any day now, and I want to be there when he does." Filia explained, clutching the basket closer to her.

"Yes but Filia , the town we are going to doesn't take too kindly to anything out of the ordinary, and a stranger carrying around a green egg in a hand basket is definitely 'out of the ordinary'" Xellos explained, his tone suggesting there was no room for argument.

"Well then I'm not going. I'm not leaving Val _here_ by himself, no way in heaven, hell or earth." Filia stated, tuning her nose up and away in defiance.

'Well then it's a good thing we're not in any of them' Xellos thought to himself as he searched for a solution to this newest problem. "What if we got a babysitter, or in this case an egg sitter?" Xellos said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't know. Xellos I really don't feel comfortable leaving Val at all, let alone with a complete stranger."

"Then we won't leave him with a stranger. Is there anybody who you would trust with Val?" Xellos asked. He was starting to get slightly irritated that this was taking so long, but he kept his emotions in check and his face blank.

"No one in this place, that's for sure." Filia stated. Not that the mazoku that she's met so far seemed that bad, she just didn't feel quite comfortable with leaving Val alone with them yet.

"Alright then. What about one of your servant beast-men? Do you trust them enough?" Xellos suggested. They really needed to get going soon or else they were going to miss the 'appointment'.

"They're not my servants! But I suppose maybe Jilas could watch Val, that is if he's not busy." Filia said more to herself than Xellos. Not that Gravos wasn't competent in looking after the egg, it's just that he's always had trouble handling fragile things; she had lost many a vase in the past to his lack of careful handling.

"So Jilas it is then. I'll just go pick him up and we'll get him to just keep an eye on the egg until we get back. You could probably even offer him a raise in his pay for the extra services." Xellos commented offhandedly as he turned around to leave.

"Wait a sec Xellos. Why are you so determined for me to get a babysitter anyway? What's so special about where we are going?" Filia asked, somewhat wary about Xellos's determination to get her to go with him that he would even fetch Jilas to baby-sit Val.

"I'll explain when we get there. Like I said it's a surprise. Besides it'll be fun, trust me." Xellos said as he looked over his shoulder, a dimpled smile spreading across his face.

"Trust you?" Filia said raising her eyebrow at him, Xellos couldn't help but chuckle in his head at the look, she looked so funny when she did that it was almost cute.

"Yes, trust me. Isn't that the whole reason we're here having this conversation in the first place? So you can learn to trust me?" Xellos replied, his smile never wavering.

'Well he has a point there' Filia thought to herself as she contemplated the situation. "Well…alright then. But if ANYTHING happens to Val while we are away I am holding you _personally_ responsible. Is that clear?" Filia said; her tone promising extreme consequences if such a thing were to happen.

Xellos shrugged his shoulders while cocking his head to the side, "seems fair enough. Is there anything else?" Xellos asked.

"Just one more thing." Filia said; smiling the cutest smile she could manage. "Can I _pleeaaasse _take mace-sama? I promise not to hit you" 'in public' Filia added to herself, her smile never wavering.

Xellos narrowed his already closed eyes at Filia's 'innocent' smile, not buying the cute act. Hmm, maybe he can use this to his advantage. Xellos could feel the sadistic grin twitching at the corners of his mouth as he turned back around to face her. "Well now, that depends," Xellos said as he moved closer to Filia until he was only a few short inches from her face. "On what's in it for me." He all but purred as he opened his amethyst eyes only slightly, an extreme contrast to his head splitting grin.

Filia could feel her face heat and her heart race as Xellos once again invaded her personal space 'he seems to have a habit of doing that' she thought at the back of her mind. He then brought one hand up to her face and gently traced the line of her jaw. "Well Fi-chan?" Xellos spoke again, his finger hooking under her chin, gently bringing her face closer still to his own.

Filia's mind was running a mile a minute in an attempt to gather all her scattered thoughts to form a coherent sentence. "Uh…what…what would you want?" Filia asked hesitantly, her facing deepening into a darker shade of red.

"Hmm, how about access to my own room again?" Xellos teased, winking one eye at her.

Filia frowned slightly as she raised her eyebrow again. "Uh, how about NO!" Filia remarked. It was hard enough getting the room in the first place, she wasn't about to give up all that hard work just so he could sneak in whenever he wanted to.

"Aww, you're no fun Fi-chan." Xellos pouted as he withdrew from her, Filia breathing a sigh of relief as she regained her personal boundaries again. "Hmph, alright then. How about you do exactly what I tell you to do while we're out. Does that sound fair enough?" Xellos questioned as he folded his arms.

Filia ran the offer through her head, "not really, no." she replied, not thinking the idea of Xellos controlling what she can and can't do to be remotely fair in exchange for her bringing her only means of protecting herself.

"Well then I guess mace-sama is staying behind, because that is my final offer." Xellos stated, metaphorically putting his foot down.

"Ugh, _fine!_ I'll do what you ask for this one day _within reason!_" Filia growled slightly, accepting that she wasn't going win this one.

"Of course within reason Filia. It's not like I'm going to ask you to do a strip tease or anything." 'Although that's not such a bad idea' Xellos thought to himself as images of Filia giving him a personal show flashed through his mind, '_focus Xellos, focus!_'

"Xellos you perv!" Filia yelled as she swung her mace at his face again. To even _suggest_ that she'd ever do something so _indecent_!

Xellos teleported seconds before the mace made contact and reappeared behind a slightly disoriented Filia, grabbing the wrist that held the mace and brought it up to the side of her head, "Rule number one; no swinging this thing at my head for the entire day, understand?" Xellos said firmly, his hold on her never loosening.

"Understood." Filia confirmed, a small smirk marring her face 'I just won't swing it at your head then.'

"Good." Xellos then let go of her arm, not seeing her smirk from behind her. As soon as she had her arm back she put her mace away and managed to hide her smirk as Xellos made his way in front of her again. "Now that that's settled, shall we get this organised and go?" Xellos said as he started to fade out.

"Oh Xellos, when you ask Jilas tell him that I would consider it a personal favour will you." Filia called out as Xellos fully faded from before her.

"Whatever you say Fi-chan."

…...

Xellos had teleported into Filia's Mace 'n' Vase shop, directly in front of the counter. Gravos, who had been sitting behind the counter dozing off, was startled by Xellos's sudden appearance and ended up leaning too far back in his chair and tipping it over. While Jilas, who had just unlocked the front of the store, let out a small yelp and backed up right against the door in an effort to put as much distance as he could between himself and the monster now standing before them.

"Good morning to you all. I've come on behalf of Filia." Xellos stated in an overly formal voice, looking back and forth between the two beast-men as they composed themselves.

"Oi! You have got to stop doing that!" Gravos growled irritably at Xellos as he picked up his chair and set it back in its rightful place.

"Yea'. I's a'fuly rude!" Jilas added as he straitened himself out.

"Perhaps, but right now that doesn't matter that much. I've actually come here for you good Jilas." Xellos said as he turned to face the fox man.

"What? Why me? What do ye wan' ov me?" Jilas asked, taking a cautious step back from Xellos.

"Like I said earlier, I'm here on behalf of Filia. I need you to come with me for a special job." Xellos replied

"Miss Filia? Is th' boss ok?" Jilas asked in concern.

"She's perfectly fine. Simply a small situation has come up and we are in need of your services for the day." Xellos explained.

"Hey wait. If Miss Filia is in need of help, then shouldn't I go as well? I'm fully prepared to help in any way I can." Gravos said as he made his way out from behind the counter, mindful that his tail not bump into anything.

"This is a job that only requires one of you. Besides Miss Filia needs someone trustworthy to look after the store still, and who better to get the job than the strong and reliable Gravos?" Xellos replied, looking at Gravos over his shoulder as the lizard man lifted his head in an act of superiority.

"Well you get no argument there, that's for sure." Gravos said rather smugly.

"Yes. Well now that that's settled, shall we depart Mr Jilas? Miss Filia is waiting" said Xellos as he faced the fox man again.

"Hmm, I s'pose, if th' boss needs me." Jilas said hesitantly as he approached the monster, still wary of him but willing to trust him if it meant that he could help the boss.

"Very well then, we'll be off now, have a nice day Mr Gravos." Xellos said as he made to teleport away with Jilas in tow.

"Wait, when you go give my regards to the boss and I hope she's well." Gravos called out just as Xellos was leaving with Jilas.

"Will do." Xellos's disembodied voice called back before fading completely, leaving Gravos on his own in the shop.

"-sigh- I hope Jilas gets back soon, I know next to nothing about maths." Were Gravos's resigned thoughts as he went to try and figure out how he was going to tally up the days profits without Jilas.

…

Xellos reappeared seconds later inside the doorway of the bedroom with Jilas standing in front of him. When they appeared they found Filia sitting on the edge of the bed, humming a small tune to herself.

"Oh Xellos, you're back. And Jilas, good to see you again." Filia said as she stood up from the bed.

"Boss!" Jilas cried as he ran towards her and hugged her around her middle. "Oh boss, me an' boss Gravos were so worried abou' you when you di'nt com' bac' from th' marke's, we di'nt kno' wha' 'ad 'appen' to ya'. We're so 'appy tha' you're alrigh'!" Jilas sobbed as he tightened his hold on Filia as if she would disappear again if he let go.

"Oh Jilas. It's alright I'm fine. I'm sorry I made you worry so much." Filia soothed as she patted the back of his head trying to calm him down.

Throughout the exchange Xellos's eyes had began to glow and a deep growl resounded at the back of his throat. He knew that Jilas meant no harm in hugging Filia, but he still didn't like the way he was clinging to her. 'Mine, hands off before I blast them off' Xellos thought darkly to himself as he watched Filia pat the back of the fox mans head in a soothing gesture.

Filia's head shot up towards Xellos when she heard his growling pick up a few tempos. Noticing the murderous looks the fox man was getting she hastened to find a way to get Jilas off of her before he was reduced to a black smudge on the ground from their intensity.

"Uh, um, anyway Jilas, about the reason you're here." Filia stuttered as she gently pushed him off her, bending down to his height and looking him in the eyes.

"Oh, righ'. I was tol' tha' ye neede' me for som' special job." Jilas stated, smiling a toothy grin.

"That's right. I needed you to just watch over Val for the day if that's ok with you." Filia asked sweetly.

"Ov course boss! I'd look af'er th' youn' master any day! It woul' be my pleasure!" Jilas replied enthusiastically, giving Filia a small salute.

"I'm thankful Jilas. And when I get back you can expect a handsome pay rise for the extra help." Filia smiled, taking Xellos up on his suggestion. After all Jilas was proving that he deserved it with all he's doing for her.

"No need boss, I'm doing it as a favour to ye. Bu', if ye really wan'ed to pay me bac', th' recipe for ye rabbi' casserole wouldn' go unloved" Jilas said with a small wink in her direction.

"Hehe, oh no you don't Jilas, that casserole is mine. But I'll be happy to make you a batch when I come home, how does that sound?" Filia compensated, giving Jilas a wink of her own

"Oh, I s'pose." Jilas said, slightly downhearted about not getting the recipe, but willing to compensate as long as he got to eat it.

"Ok then, now that that's settled, we'll be going now." Xellos spoke over the two as he moved towards them, gently taking Filia's arm and leading her out the door. "Oh, and it would be greatly advised that you don't leave the room while we're away Jilas. Food will be brought to you and anything else that you may require. Just don't step outside this door or the barrier that is currently protecting you will disappear and you will be at the mercy of the castle inhabitants." Xellos warned in a cheerful manner. If his eyes weren't open and staring intensely at the fidgeting Jilas, one might have assumed that he was joking.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll be alright Jilas. Although it would probably be a better idea to do as he says rather than take the risk." Filia said, giving Jilas an apologetic look.

"-Gulp- No...no need to worry boss, I'll be fine." Jilas stuttered as the pair left the room, Filia shooting Jilas one last sympathetic look before Xellos closed the door to the room.

As soon as the door was closed Filia shot Xellos a heated glare. "Now was there any need for that? You didn't need to scare him like that you know." Filia scolded, pulling her arm from his own and placing both her hands on her hips.

"I simply made sure that he got the message not to leave the room. Or would you prefer to come back to find nothing more than a few bloody skid marks of what used to be him?" Xellos questioned as he rolled his eyes at Filia's attitude, not really phased by it.

Filia pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a small sigh. "All I'm saying is that you could have used a method that didn't include scaring the wits out of him." Filia suggested, hoping in the back of her mind that Jilas wasn't left too affected by what Xellos had said.

"Perhaps" was all Xellos had to say. "Well I do believe that we have been delayed for long enough, shall we?" Xellos said with his usual grin, holding his hand out to her.

Filia gasped as she stared at Xellos's offered hand, flashbacks of her most recent dream hitting her full force. Shaking herself out of her trance, she hesitantly lifted her own hand, and placed it in his outstretched one.

…

Ooooo, did anybody else get an air of jealousy there? Hehe oh and it's only going to get worse from here, that's all I'm saying in terms of plot so far. Next up, Filia on a mission! Please review and lemme know what you think so far. Is there anything that needs improvement (besides my terrible grammar), just leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do, thanks! Luv ya all lots!


	18. Chapter 18

Authors Note: HELLO! Ok I am sosososo so so so sorry for the extremely late update, I was having few, ok A LOT of family problems, my little sister was in and out of hospital about 3 times, each time staying one week, and on top of that I was a t work constantly, my record is 19 days straight of work, plus exams, more work, boy trouble, and then re-enrolling for the new year and this story was, sad to say, low on the priority list, but I'm back, somewhat, and I hope this chapter makes up for the lack of fast updates, once again I apologise and I assure you I am not dropping this story, as we speak the next chapter is almost nearly done, but for now I hope this will tide you guys over until then, and I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with it and putting up with my unreliable schedule for this long, thank you all, you guys give me the encouragement to keep writing just by simply reading this (although reviews are always loved a whole heap more, no pressure) so ENJOY!

…

**Chapter 18**

Xellos reappeared with Filia right beside him at the entrance of a small alley, looking out into a busy street lined with dozens of small stalls trying to sell their wares. The day was bright and sunny with nary a cloud in the sky. When they arrived Filia looked around herself and the surrounding street. No one seemed to notice their sudden appearance, to which she released a relieved sigh. She then looked towards Xellos's calm expression as they exited the ally and walked into the centre of the bustling street. "So, where are we exactly?" Filia asked as they walked at a leisurely pace.

"This, my dear Fi-chan, is known as the city of Thure, you might have heard of it as it is located only a few hundred miles from your past fire temple." Xellos replied, still facing the way he was walking.

"Oh, so this is Thure, I always wanted to see what this place was like, it's quite a beautiful city." Filia commented as she looked around at the well kept buildings and friendly, smiling faces all around her. Back when she was at the fire temple she had learnt a small bit about this city. The inhabitants where well known for their extraordinary skill at the looms, creating some of the most exquisite weaves known to the outer world. They where also famous for their production of the finest silks this side of the country, so naturally the town was very prosperous due to good trading.

"Indeed it is. If you like you are free to wonder about and browse the stores, just don't wonder too far." Xellos said, flashing a casual smile towards Filia.

Filia's face lit up at the suggestion. "Really? Do you think I can buy something while I'm here?" Filia asked as sweetly as she could, her hands clasped in front of her as she looked up at Xellos, little stars sparkling in her eyes.

"Well I suppo…wait a minute." Xellos opened one accusing eye at Filia, catching on to her 'sweet act'. "You don't _have_ any money with you, do you?" You're expecting _me_ to pay for everything, aren't you?" Xellos sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "And they call _me_ the manipulative one."

Filia simply smiled and gave Xellos a small wink along with a familiar finger wag, "Now Xellos, what ever gave you that impression?"

Xellos shook his head with a small sigh as he reached into his bag that he carried with him. "I am clearly a bad influence on you." Xellos said as he pulled out a small pouch of gold and held it out to her.

"Well maybe that means I'm spending too much time with you." Filia stated as she took the pouch from Xellos's outstretched hand.

"Oh quite the contrary, I think this means you need to spend more time with me, to enhance and refine your new found skills." Xellos said with his own wink and finger-wag.

Filia gave Xellos a punch in the arm for that comment, not a hard one, just hard enough for the message to get through. "Stupid namagomi, be reasonable." Filia scolded as she made her way to the nearest stall and started browsing its contents.

"Hmhm, We shall see Fi-chan, we shall see." Xellos said to himself as he slowly made his way closer to the dragoness, just to keep an eye on her.

….

_(Two hours later)_

An exquisite carriage drawn by two white horses was making its way through the now quieted main streets, the general public taking a break from the midday sun under the over hangings of nearby restaurants. Filia was still wondering around with Xellos close behind. Filia had made a few small purchases, a few nice bracelets, some hair combs and a simple golden necklace with an amethyst stone mounted in the centre of the pendant. Filia was now looking at a stall that sold clip-on earrings when Xellos started to wander to the other side of the street. "Oh Miss Filia, over hear, I think I've found something that you may like." Xellos called from the opposite side of the street. Filia looked up and over to where she heard Xellos call from, seeing him smiling and waving a hand for her to come over.

"Oh, ok I'm coming." Filia called back as she gave a polite bow to the stall keeper and made her way out onto the street. As Filia got halfway across the street, one of the handles of the bags she was carrying snapped, the bag spilling its contents onto the ground. "Oh curse it." Filia steamed as she crouched down to pick up the dropped items. While she was crouching down the two white horses came trotting around the nearby corner, the carriage driver paying more attention to the group of pretty girls on the sidewalk rather than the road. He grinned and gave the girls a final wave before he returned his eyes to the front of the carriage. His face adopted a look of shock as he realised the woman in the middle of the road gathering her spilled items off the floor. Unfortunately he noticed this too late to stop and yanked the rains of the horses, forcing them to veer around the woman. By the time Filia registered the sound of the approaching carriage she only had enough time to jump back out of the way as the carriage veered away from her at the last second. Unfortunately for Filia as she jumped backwards she had lost her footing in her heels and landed on her rear, the friction of the rough ground causing a huge tear in her blue dress.

"What in Ceilphied's name…!" Filia growled as she righted herself into a sitting position, checking the damage done. The carriage that had nearly trampled her came to a halt, the driver jumping down from his seat and running over to Filia.

"Oh lord I am so sorry Miss, are you hurt?" the driver asked Filia in a panic, reaching a hand out to her.

"Is everything alright?" Xellos spoke as he made his way around the carriage and towards the panicky driver and Filia. "Oh my, now what happened hear?" Xellos asked quizzically as he eyed both Filia and the driver.

"What happened! What happened was that I was nearly trampled!" Filia snapped, shooting the poor driver a death glare.

"I am terribly sorry Miss, I wasn't…"

"What on earth is going on out here?" A gruff voice spoke. The small group looked over to where the voice came from, from the carriage that had nearly run Filia over a tall burly figure clothed in a fine green and gold robe and matching cloak stepped down onto the street.

"Highness, please I beg forgiveness, I lost control of the carriage and this Miss here-"

"'This Miss here' was nearly trampled to death." Filia growled as she took Xellos's outstretched hand and pulled herself up. When she was righted up she turned her head to look at the back of her dress. "Oh no, my dress." Filia whined, clasping the two torn end of her dress and holding them together.

"Here Miss, take this." The passenger of the carriage spoke as he removed his cloak and draped it over her shoulders, covering up the tear and hiding herself from prying eyes.

"Thank you kind sir." Filia bowed respectfully to the bulky man as he clasp the cloak at the front, securing it on her.

"That's quite alright. Maybe you and your companion would like to accompany me back to my home, we can get you a change of cloths and your dress can get repaired while you're there. It's the least I can do to make it up to you." The man offered, bowing to Filia and Xellos as he stepped aside and motioned towards the carriage.

"Oh, well I don't know." Filia said hesitantly

"Come now Fi-chan, he's only trying to help you, and it would be rude to turn down his offer." Xellos whispered in her ear, giving her shoulder a small nudge towards the carriage.

"Well, I guess that seems like the reasonable thing to do." Filia reluctantly agreed, grasping the mans large arm and proceeding towards the carriage, Xellos and the driver close behind. "Excuse me, I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you?" Filia asked, turning her head up towards the towering figure.

The man chuckled deeply as he regarded Filia. "You must be new in town; my name is Oceus von Thure, crowned ruler of this fare city." Oceus proclaimed, giving one big wave of his free arm, indicating the entire surroundings.

"Oh, well I am honoured your highness." Filia proclaimed, bowing her head in respect.

Oceus chuckled again and patted Filia's hand on his arm, "Now now there's no need for that, after all with a fair maiden such as yourself, it is I who should be giving my thanks to you for gracing my city with your presence." Oceus bowed his own head slightly towards Filia, making her blush and turn her head.

Xellos was watching the whole exchange from behind the two, the driver had run ahead to get the carriage and horses in order, lucky he did. Otherwise if he had stayed he would have been in the danger zone of a literally steaming mazoku. 'Calm yourself Xellos, think about the mission, it'll all be over soon, you can do this, just ignore-ok that is just unnecessary touching!' Xellos fumed to himself as we watched Oceus open the carriage door and guide Filia inside while placing a large hand at the small of her back. Xellos managed to keep his composure and hide his temper behind his ever present smile, even managing to give Oceus a polite bow and thanks as he allowed Xellos to enter the carriage before him.

When the pair entered the carriage they where greeted by a young woman with flowing black hair, big green eyes and a dress made of what appeared to be fine silks of green with gold trimmings. Xellos took the seat next to Filia and opposite the young woman while Oceus sat opposite Filia.

"I'd like you to meet my younger sister, princess Lay-la." Oceus said as he took his seat, motioning towards the girl. She smiled towards the pair and bowed her head towards them.

"How do you do?" She said politely

"Very well thank you." Xellos replied, giving his own polite bow to the girl.

She smiled sweetly at Xellos, giggling slightly behind her hand. "And what, may I ask, are your names?" Lay-la asked, looking between Xellos and Filia.

"How rude of us. My name is Xellos, and my companion here is Filia." Xellos responded, indicating himself and Filia respectively.

"Filia. That is a very beautiful name." Oceus said, smiling friendly towards Filia, causing her to blush and avert her eyes towards her feet.

"I'd say Xellos is also a rather unique and intriguing name." Lay-la said, eyeing Xellos from her spot across from him.

"Yes, I will admit to being rather fond of my name." Xellos said, flashing Lay-la a rather suggestive smile.

Filia had spotted the look Xellos had given the princess, she looked towards the girl and saw her responding in favour to Xellos's flirting, least to say Filia was not too happy about that. 'He's actually _flirting_ with her, right in front of me!' Filia sat back in her seat with a humph, 'well, two can play at that game' Filia plotted as the carriage jerked forward slightly and restarted its journey.

Xellos could sense Filia's anger and jealousy growing, inside he was grinning sadistically, 'and so it begins.'

Most of the beginning of the trip was spent in silence as the carriage made its way through the town. The silence was then broken by Oceus in an attempt to make some casual conversation. "So, what brings you two to this city? And how long did you plan on staying?" He asked, looking between Xellos and Filia for an answer.

"Oh I'm afraid it's only a short stay before we have to be on our way again. And as to what brings us here, well news of your cities extraordinary sights and markets was enough for us to want to come and see it for ourselves." Xellos said.

"Oh, so you two are travelling together?" Lay-la asked the pair, a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"I guess you could say that." Xellos responded, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, you are very much welcomed here, although I do hope that you will choose to prolong your stay here," Oceus leaned forward and clasped a hand onto one of Filia's own that was clasped on her knees, "This city would seem a lot more duller without you in it." Filia felt her face go scarlet at the contact and the compliment. She then felt a rather large jolt go through her whole body, making all her muscles tense up. She looked at Xellos at the corner of her eye, he looked the same as usual, his expression calm, almost bored in fact. But Filia knew better, she had felt that large spike in chaotic energy that he released when Oceus had reached over and clasped her hand. She saw Xellos turn his head slightly towards her and barely open one of his eyes to look into her own from the corner. From that stare she knew that he knew that she felt that spike. She also knew that it was a warning that she was treading on dangerous ground at this point, and to be careful where she steps. Filia could feel herself being encircled by a mass of invisible dark energy, almost completely consuming her own aura. She felt a strong need to pull her hand away from Oceus's grasp, but she fought it.

She placed a hand over the top of Oceus's larger hand and gently squeezed it. "I thank you for the hospitality your highness. But as to prolonging our stay I'm afraid that we are on a tight schedule and must be on our way again soon. But I would love to return to your lovely city sometime in the near future if time permits." Filia responded, giving the king a kind smile. Ignoring Xellos's influences, her natural stubbornness commanding that she give Xellos a taste of his own medicine.

Completely oblivious to the surrounding danger, princess Lay-la was intently studying Xellos from her place beside her brother. She will admit that the man did have an aura of superiority, while still retaining an air of boyish charm. Lay-la could feel herself quickly becoming smitten with this new man and his charming smile. Maybe if she could somehow convince her brother to let her marry him instead of that prince from Elmsar. Lay-la smiled at this thought. Yes that would be a most desirable outcome. Prince Trogen, while a very powerful figure in his domain was unfortunately not on the attractive side, and he was such a bore to be around. Lay-la was confident enough in the power she and her brother already had, and she felt that it wasn't a necessity for her to marry him; if only to gain a little extra power that they could honestly do quite simply on their own. She was the princess of one of the richest kingdoms; she should at least have the right to choose a husband that she desired, and not someone who was chosen for her for the sake of unneeded political ties.

Xellos could feel he was being looked at. He turned his attention towards the princess sitting opposite him. When he did Lay-la knew she had been caught staring and averted her eyes to the side, a slight blush making itself known on her smooth features. She looked back up to Xellos from the corner of her eye. Xellos saw this and flashed her a friendly, open eyed smile, winking at her for good measure.

The rest of the trip passed in a relatively comfortable silence, only disturbed by the occasional small talk that the group would engage in. Eventually the carriage pulled up to a pair of large golden gates, reaching at least 20 feet into the sky. Either side of the gates where high watch towers with what could be made out as large crossbows mounted on stands pointing straight out the windows of the tower. At the sight of the royal carriage the guards standing either side of the gates gave a shout and the gates where opened from the inside, allowing the carriage to drive straight through.

The driver brought the carriage about so its side was facing the beginning of a long green carpet, two guards standing either side of the carriage door. The driver jumped down from his seat and went around and opened the door. As the door was opened Oceus was the first to step down onto the carpet, closely followed by Xellos. They both stood beside the carriage as Lay-la was coming out, Xellos offering his hand to her to help her down the step. A small blush spread itself along her cheeks as she accepted Xellos's offered hand and stepped down from the carriage.

Filia followed closely behind Lay-la as she stepped on to the ground, Oceus offering her his hand in aid. Filia took his hand and stepped down, smirking to herself when she felt a familiar spike in Xellos's aura. 'Hmph serves you right you creep.' She thought to herself. She felt that he deserved to be made jealous for what he made her go through during the trip.

As Filia looked up towards the palace she was left in silent awe. It looked like the type of castle one would find in a child's fairytale book, high pointed roofs with flagpoles included. The walls where pure white save for the emerald green rooftops and window frames. There where green and gold flags atop every pointed roof with what Filia assumed to be the royal families crest. From what Filia could see of the closer flags it appeared to be the outline of some type of strange creature with long ears, a long face and large powerful legs with a long, strong tail. (AN: a big applause for anyone who can guess what the animal is ;))

Filia's eyes where darting all over the place, trying to take in the sight before her. 'Honestly the only thing missing from this picture is the rainbow arch over the castle and the knights on horseback at the entrance oh wait, there they are.' Filia corrected herself as she spotted two men dressed in silver armour riding two white horses guarding the front steps, each with a sword at their side and a long flagpole in their hand.

"Shall we?" Oceus said as he held his elbow out to Filia. Filia swirled her head towards Oceus and his offered arm. Smiling softly she gently grasped his arm and the four of them ascended the stairs and into the castle.

As they entered the rather large entrance hall Oceus brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled into the room. At his whistle two maids came rushing into the room, bowing before the group in respect. "Escort Miss Filia here to one of the guest rooms and organise a change of cloths for her while her dress is repaired." Oceus commanded.

"Yes your Highness. Right this way Ma'am." One of the maids answered, stepping to the side and allowing Filia to pass by her, following behind the other maid as she made her way down a near-by corridor.

The room Filia was taken to was a decent size with simple furniture; bed, vanity, table and chairs, closet, nothing too fancy, but it did seem to have a homey feel to it. "Ma'am, here is your dress. If you need any assistance we will be just outside the door." One of the maids said, holding out the dress for Filia. It was a rather elegant white dress with long sleeves and a long skirt, both lined in gold lace along with the low neck line and around the waist where the skirt of the dress met the top.

"Oh, thank you." Filia said as she took the dress and watched as the maids bowed deeply and left to wait outside her door. After a short while Filia had finally changed into her new dress and had handed over her old one to the maids so it could be repaired. She took a small moment to admire herself in the mirror; the dress was a perfect fit, almost as if it was made for her. She gave herself a nod of approval and left the room with the remaining maid to where the others would be waiting for her.

The maid led her to a pair of double doors at the end of a very long hall. At their arrival the two butlers standing either side of the doors bowed before her and opened the doors for her. As she walked in she saw Oceus at the head of a long dinner table seated in an elaborate chair decorated with red cushions on the back and armrests. To his right sat Lay-la, whose eyes never seemed to leave Xellos's figure who sat beside her. Filia had to restrain herself from openly growling at the princess and her obvious attentions to Xellos. Sure the elders at the fire temple taught her that charity was a virtue and that it was good to share, but they didn't say anything about sharing ones potential mate. 'Not that it's looking too potential with Xellos's constant hints and flirtations.' Filia seethed to herself as she watched Xellos raise his glass to Lay-la in a toast, which she obviously accepted.

Fighting the urge to throw her mace at the mazoku's two-timing face, Filia made her way around the table to sit on Oceus's left, giving him a small bow in respect before taking her seat.

"Now then, while you're here you might as well join us for lunch." Oceus proclaimed as he clapped his hands twice and the doors swung open, a small group of butlers and maids entered, each carrying one silver platter loaded with different varieties of foods.

The waiting staff laid one platter of food in front of every seated person, along with a few extra containing different types of salad in the middle of the group. The meal itself was simple enough, a decent size piece of meat with vegetables and gravy. Not exactly an extravagant midday meal, but definitely satisfactory. "So Miss Filia, won't you tell me a bit more about yourself? Let's start with where you're from since you're obviously not from around here." Oceus commented as he began to sample his lunch, all the while looking at her.

"Oh, well I actually used to live in a town about a day away from here a while ago, but just recently I moved a bit further away for a change of scenery and opened up my own little shop." Filia started, tasting a few of the vegetables and giving a small nod of approval as she continued to eat.

"Is that so? Tell me what sort of shop do you run? I wouldn't be surprised if it was a beauty shop, after all it would make sense to have a beauty shop be run by a beautiful woman." Oceus said in one of the most gentle of voices she ever herd, his eyes quickly but noticeably running over her figure before resting on her eyes, showing that he was not just making this up.

Filia couldn't help but blush a bit at Oceus's obvious flirting. No matter the type of woman, all females, either secretly or not, liked to be told their beautiful every once in a while. "Ah, well no actually, I run a shop that sells pottery and weaponry, mace's to be more specific."

Oceus's eyes widened slightly in shock at Filia's confession, at first not quite sure what to make of the information. "Hmm, a woman that sells pottery and weaponry. Elegance and strength, beauty and power," Oceus thought out loud as he studied Filia's face, a small smile gently tugging at his lips, "I like that. It suites you." Filia averted her eyes from Oceus's searching emeralds, opting instead to gaze thoughtfully at her plate, fiddling with her food with the fork she held in her hands, a small goofy smile tugged at her lips at the flattering comment. 'Hn, I never thought about it like that before' she absently thought to herself.

However at the other end of the table, there was a whole different atmosphere. Xellos was sitting there quietly as he ate his food and listened to Lay-la conversing about some mundane shopping trip she had where she brought herself some new make up and dresses and a whole list of other things he had next to no interest in, but continued to smile and nod in the appropriate places. What he was really focussing on was the exchange between Filia and Oceus. Xellos had strained to stop himself from dry retching at the remark Oceus made about the beauty shop. 'Honestly that was so cheesy even the rats down in the streets could taste it.' But what really got Xellos ruffled was the fact that Filia actually _liked_ that remark. He could practically taste her flustered emotions as she smiled goofily at her food. Xellos's grip on his cutlery continued to tighten as Oceus stared longer and longer at Filia as she picked at her food. More than once he caught the royals gaze drift to the cleavage that was shown by the dress he lent to her. So what if Xellos took a few looks too, as far as he was concerned he was allowed to, that cleavage and the body attached to them belonged to him, and this _bear_ thinks he can just take a peek whenever he wants to, _oh hell no!_ Absently at the back of his mind, behind all the images of bloody corpses and a certain royal's maggot-eaten head, Xellos had to commend the workmanship done on the cutlery he was gripping. Any other ordinary pieces of silverware would have snapped by now under his hand, yet this set seemed to hold strong, not even bending. 'Hmm, I wonder if I can get a tea set commissioned out of this stuff.' Xellos absently pondered to himself.

In an event completely unrelated to unbreakable tea sets, (which might have been very useful to certain dragons who liked to throw said pottery at unsuspecting namagomi's) Zelas was having the time of her extremely long life watching the events shown to her in a brass bowl of silver liquid. "Oh my-my; it's basically become a game of 'who will be the first to snap'." Zelas said more to herself than the minion who was holding the bowl for her.

"Who do you think will win mistress?" the minion asked her as he peeked over the rim of the bowl.

"Hmm, usually my wine's on Xellos, but the dragon girl is showing remarkable restraint, and Xellos isn't exactly all together at this point." Zelas tapped her chin in thought, "this _should_ concern me, oh but this is so much fun!" Zelas exclaimed as she took another sip from her glass.

"But mistress, what if Xellos were to lose first?" The minion couldn't help but ask.

Zelas smirked darkly, her sharp teeth gleaming in the low light emitted from the bowl, "Well it's always fun to watch things blow up."

So, how do you think that went so far? Ok like I said the next chapter should be done soon, I'm not sure when, inspiration has a habit of staying for a couple of sentences and then suddenly vanishing for a week long holiday. BUT if you review it tends to stick around a bit longer and the holidays get shorter, so please review and the next update should happen rather quickly,

With love, THE female dog ^_^


	19. Chapter 19

Howdy! See I told you guys the next one should be up rather soon, well sooner than what my other chapters have come up in the past, this story was actually rather tricky to write, it really gave me a run for my money so I hope it turned out alright, just at the end leave a review and let me know if it did ok, thanks!

(Almost forgot, I do not own slayers, no matter how much I wish I did I don't so damn)

**Chapter 19**

Filia wasn't exactly sure how she ended up in the situation she was in, standing on a step stool, with two maids bustling over her, fitting her into a new dress for a ball she was to attend apparently. From what she could recall sometime during lunch Oceus had asked if they would like to stick around for a gathering that he was planning that afternoon. Xellos had said something about 'being a polite guest and not refusing', and Oceus had been quite insistent on the whole idea. Filia could not help but think that something seemed a little _off_ about all of this, she couldn't explain why, but something just didn't seem to fit. Filia thought back on the events that had happened over the day. First Xellos wakes her up early in the morning, and then he is secretive about their destination. Not to mention her and Xellos just coincidentally came here on the same day as a royal ball. Then there was how she somehow managed to drop her bag in front of the royal carriage, and Oceus just _happened_ to be a kind ruler and offer her a new dress, _two_ in fact! Now how often did that happen now days without some ulterior motive backing each and every act of kindness, not that she thinks that Oceus isn't being truthful about whom he is, but to her something just doesn't seem to add up as _coincidence_.

Thinking to interrogate Xellos the next chance she got, knowing by instinct that he was behind all this somehow, Filia yelped when one of the maids pricked her again with one of the fitting needles. "Sorry Miss, but you need to be more still." The maid who pricked her commented, taking another pin from the cushion she had around her wrist and fastening it in place.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just not cut out for this type of thing" Filia apologised as the maids buzzed around her.

"Not to worry Miss, with some practise you would be an elegant Queen" the maid chirped as she placed another pin on Filia's hip.

"What? Oh no you must be mistaken. I'm not going to be a queen. His majesty has just invited me to attend the gathering with him for some company." Filia hurriedly replied, a slight blush making its way across her features.

"Oh, of course Miss, my apologies" the maid replied before continuing on with her work.

The rest of the fitting passed in general silence, Filia's mind running a mile a minute trying to decipher her current situation and what the maid had implied.

"Alright Miss, it's finished. Is it to your liking?" One of the maids asked as she directed Filia's attention away from her jumbled thoughts and onto the mirror standing before her.

The dress was a strapless one and a deep blue, nearly purple hue. A green weaving vine pattern adorned the dress from the start of her cleavage to twist around her slim waist and flow down the skirt of the dress until it reached the bottom, an assortment of pink flowers varying from buds to new blooms following the twisted path of the vines. The waist of the dress was lined with a silver material that seemed to sparkle every time she moved slightly.

"It's beautiful." Filia said in awe as she took in her appearance, twisting her body slightly to get a better look at the dress from all angles.

"Simply marvellous!" One of the maids exclaimed as she clasped her hands over her heart.

"Yes, well now come along we still have a lot of work to do to get the Miss ready for the party." The other maid snapped. You could almost see the vein throbbing in her temple and her tense shoulders shaking slightly. The first maid instantly fell silent at her colleague's outburst and gave a submissive nod as she went back to her work. Filia could not help but feel as if this particular woman had some sort of grudge against her, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why.

'I haven't done or said anything to her, why would she have such distaste for me?' Filia pondered to herself. 'Hmm.' Filia closed her eyes in deep thought, 'Maybe she just doesn't like blondes' Filia thought as she spied the black hair of the maid in question as she hemmed the bottom of the dress. The maid noticed Filia's eyes on her and gave a definite "Hmph!" and turned back to her work.

…

"My my, this is turning out to be quite the gathering" Xellos said as he watched the grand hall steadily fill up with aristocrats from the surrounding lands.

"Of course, it's supposed to be a greeting for the Lord Trogen and his company's arrival." Said Lay-la from her spot beside Xellos as she slipped her arm through his own. "Look there he is over there." Lay-la gestured towards a group of men, all dressed in black suites, circled around a young noble with greasy black hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken three times too many, dressed in a flowing red overcoat with a white puffy top and white puffy pants.

"Aha, well what do you know, that is him." Xellos replied. 'Good, the stage is set and nearly all the players are present. All I need now is for my gold to get here and the show may begin.' Xellos mused to himself as he watched the prince sampling some of the food from the banquet table.

"I must say you look simply delectable in a suite." Lay-la she eyed Xellos's form, bringing his attention back to her. For the night he had chosen a white dress suite with matching pants, accessorised with a red bow around his collar and a red rose on his breast pocket. He kept his usual white gloves and a pair of black shoes; however his staff was no where in sight.

"Why thank you your highness, and you don't look so bad yourself." Xellos said through his smile as he regarded the princess's choice in fashion. She had selected a sunflower yellow dress with sleeves that reached her elbows and dipped low enough to show a hint of cleavage, but leaving just enough covered so as to not give anything away. It then went down to her slim waist where it slightly exaggerated her hips and backside, where a group of large yellow feathers protruded, giving the illusion of a birds tail. The bottom flowed all the way down to her ankles where she was wearing a pair of yellow shoes with a little tuff of matching yellow feathers on the toes, all accessorised with a yellow shawl made of, you guessed it, feathers.

Lay-la giggled behind her feather fan as she tugged on his arm towards the crowd. "Come on master Xellos, let us entertain the company." She said with enthusiasm as they made their way over to the nearest group of finely dressed nobles.

'I have every intention of _entertaining the company_' Xellos smiled to himself as he let himself be dragged by the young princess.

It was only after a couple more minutes and a few nobles later that Filia was at last seen entering the hall. As she walked through the large double doors the nobles closest to her stopped their conversations dead and just stared at her as she passed, followed by the two maids who then left her to go and stand by the walls in case they where called. Filia could feel most of the eyes in the room starting to focus on her. She started to fiddle with her gloved hands as she scanned the many guests, looking for a familiar face, at this point she really didn't mind who it was as long as she had someone to talk to, rather than just standing in the middle of the room by herself.

She soon spotted Xellos in his white tux, accompanied by the princess and a few other unfamiliar people. They all seemed to be having a good time, Xellos must have said something funny because after he finished talking the other members of the group broke out into bursts of laughter, the princess Lay-la slipping her arm in his own and resting her head against his shoulder.

Filia barely suppressed the growl threatening to rise from her throat, "I hope you get sick after this" Filia cursed under her breath that all that exposure to positive emotions would make him want to vomit on the princesses dress, 'honestly what's with all the feathers? Is she planning on trying to fly away with him or something?' Filia gasped and quickly brought her hands to her mouth, 'since when did I start thinking all these awful thoughts, this is not how a priestess of the fire dragon king is supposed to act. Well, ex-priestess technically, but that doesn't change the fact that a descendant of the dragon race should not lower themselves to the point of common jealousy. Wait, stop right there. I am not jealous! I just… don't want the minds of these poor humans to be tainted by the monster race, that's it! That's why I'm acting this way. Knowing Xellos they're probably all just pawns in some elaborate game of his; that must be it.' Filia gave a definite nod at her own conclusions. 'That's what it is. This means I'm going to have to keep on eye on them, just to make sure he doesn't try anything sneaky.' After deciding her plan of action Filia started to wonder towards another familiar face, close to the group with Xellos.

"Ah Miss Filia, you look simply beautiful." Oceus beamed as she walked up to him, giving a small curtsey as she reached him.

"Thank you your highness. You really didn't have to do this you know." Filia started as she rose to her full height.

"Oh nonsense, it was no trouble, beside the dress looks like it was practically made for you." Oceus replied as he extended his arm out to her as they began to walk near the banquet table. As they neared Oceus picked up a crystal glass with what looked like red wine. "Refreshment my dear?" Oceus said as he held the glass out to her.

"Oh I shouldn't. You see alcohol doesn't really agree with me." Filia said as she shook her head in a negative.

"Come on Fi-chan, one small drink can't possibly hurt." Oceus probed as he offered her the drink again.

Filia felt the corner of her mouth twitch as Oceus said her nickname. She couldn't explain it but it somehow seemed _wrong_ for him, or anyone else, to call her that name. With Xellos it was still annoying, but it didn't feel this awkward. In an attempt to hide her thoughts from her face she took the glass and took a quick swig of the beverage, swallowing with a very audible gulp.

"Ha-ha easy Filia, no need to skull it, you'll make yourself sick." Oceus lightly scolded. The musicians then started to play a different tune. "Ah I love this song, may I have this dance my lady?" Oceus said as he bowed and extended his hand to her. Filia glanced up and saw Xellos was already on the dance floor with Lay-la, who couldn't have gotten any closer to him even if she tried.

"Of course, your majesty. I would be delighted" Filia replied through her forced smile as she took his hand and followed him onto the floor. The song wasn't a fast one, but it did have an energetic beat to it as the couples danced and twirled around each other. Filia felt as if her head was doing summersaults inside her skull, she could feel her cheeks start to darken from the alcohol and could not have been more relieved when the song ended as dancers paused and applauded the musicians as they readied themselves for the next song.

This time they decided to play the waltz, as Filia composed herself and the world stopped spinning for a bit, her and Oceus where reaching towards each other someone came up from behind and tapped Oceus on the shoulder. He turned around to see Xellos standing behind him, his usual closed-eye smile displayed as he regarded the royal. "May I cut in your majesty?" He said in a smooth voice as he gave a small nod towards the stunned Filia.

Oceus glanced between the two, a look of what appeared to be disappointment on his features as he gave his consent and stepped out of the way and went to dance with his sister. It was now Xellos's turn to offer his hand in a bow to Filia as she nearly glared daggers at him. "Come on Fi-chan, I promise I wont bite." Xellos said with a smirk as Filia huffed, angrily taking his hand as she looked to the side, anywhere but his smug face. She was caught off guard when he pulled on her arm and quickly wrapped his other arm around her waist, probably a bit tighter than what he needed to. Filia gave a punch to his arm as he smiled down at her, leading them both into the dance.

"Not so tight you stupid namagomi." Filia spat as they danced with perfect timing to the rhythm of the music, even with alcohol in her system Filia never missed a beat when it came to dancing, it was one of the things that came to her naturally, that along with her knack for making pottery.

"Oh come now I thought we where passed the name calling stage by this point." Xellos said as he led Filia in to a twirl and back into his waiting arms. For a moment the spinning caught Filia off guard and she leant heavily against Xellos until she composed herself again. Xellos furrowed his brow slightly and leaned in close to her face. Filia's eyes widened dramatically as his face came within inches of her own, he stopped barely a hairs breadth away from her lips and pulled away just as suddenly as he swooped in. "Filia, have you been drinking?" He asked, one eyebrow slowly creeping up behind his fringe as he regarded her.

"Hmph, it was one glass, so what? I do –hiccup- not need to be parented-ed by the likes of you namagomi." Filia managed to say between the odd hiccups, 'I wonder how strong that wine was.'

"I'm not parenting anybody. I just didn't think that you would give in to such trivial peer pressure so easily." Xellos said. Filia began to wonder if it was just her slightly tipsy mind, or was Xellos actually chastising her like she was a child who was caught sneaking off with the muffins that just come from the oven.

"Who said I was pressured into it. And besides even if I was persuaded to, it's none of your concern. And at least I wasn't dancing with an overgrown canary." The last part was mumbled more to herself than to Xellos, but he still heard it, and frankly he thought it was rather funny. But he kept his feature neutral as they continued to dance.

"Maybe not, but at least my dance partner didn't look like they where a descendant of a mountain troll." He retorted as he gestured to the royal in question, who was apparently having a serious discussion with his sister judging from their straight faces.

"How –hiccup- dare you poke insults at someone so gentle –hiccup- and, and…consa…consey…considerate." Filia growled as they continued to dance, never missing a step.

"He didn't seem so _considerate_ when he was sneaking peaks at you _attributes_." Xellos said harshly.

"Hmph, I highly doubt that. And even if he –hiccup- was, I don't see how that would –hiccup- concern you. It doesn't bother you does it?" Filia replied with dark humour.

"Of course it's going to bother me Fi-chan. I'm a monster remember, you shouldn't expect me to share." Xellos replied with a smile. The remark seemed so casual you'd of thought he just commented on the fine weather we'd been having.

It took Filia a while to register what Xellos had just confessed, and even longer for her to get her thoughts back in line. "Well then if you have such a problem –hiccup- with the king then why are we even here in –hiccup- the first place, you're the one that dragged us here…" Filia paused as her mind started to pull itself together. "Wait, first the early start, then the accident, the pushing me into coming here." Filia looked up and glared at Xellos, a cold fire burning behind her eyes. "Xellos Metallium did you drag me into one of your horrible mazoku missions!"

"Now now, calm down. Does this seem so horrible to you?" Xellos replied calmly, gesturing his head at the hall full of pleasant people enjoying a night out.

"Well, no. But I'm sure –hiccup- whatever you and your mistress –hiccup- have planned it cannot be –hiccup- good.

"Actually I think you'll find this particular mission extremely worth while. It's got a noble cause and everything." Xellos replied, his grin widening as he watched Filia absorb the information.

"I still don't think I –hiccup- trust you." Filia said as she gave him a stern look. 'Great, now he's going blurry on me, I just hope this night finishes before I start babbling like a…a…person with no brains.'

"Aww come on Filia, you're going to have to trust me sometimes, what better time to start than now. Listen, this is the basic plan." Xellos said as they continued dancing.

…

"Well brother? It's up to you now, both of our happiness is in your hands." Lay-la said to her brother as she finished revealing her wishes to the King.

"I don't know Lay-la, Filia is nice and I do think I have feelings for her, but she could never replace Veronica, and I don't like the idea of using her so you can get what you want…_again_." Oceus replied to his sister, a small amount of annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Then use her to get what you want. You're the King, you could have both if you would just use your authority for once and take the chance. This is more for your benefit anyway; it just happens that I manage to get something out of this deal." Lay-la said confidently to her brother. When she wanted something she wouldn't stop until she got it, if there was one trait you had to admire about her it was her determination.

"Look, you need a Queen and an heir, that's where Filia comes in. We just pretend she's a noble from another land, teach her a few customs, and bam, instant Queen. And who says you can't have a mistress on the side, many Kings from the past have had at least three, even grandfather had a few staying in the castle, it's normal." She pushed as the song was about to reach its end.

When the dance was over the couples stopped and applauded the musicians. "I still don't like it; but you have a point." Oceus sighed to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll go and break the news to Lord Trogen, let's just hope he takes the news well." He said as he left his sister to find the young lord.

…

"So you want me to do…nothing?" Filia said slightly bewildered as Xellos finished going over the basics of the mission.

"Now I wouldn't say that, you already played your part, and now you can just sit back and enjoy the show, but most importantly, just be yourself." Xellos said as he gave her his signature wink and finger wag.

"What? What is that supposed to mean?" Filia started when Xellos silenced her by putting his finger against her lips.

"Shhh, look it's about to start." Xellos whispered as he motioned to Oceus who was approaching the Lord Trogen with a serious look on his features. Filia felt her heart sink into her stomach as she realised what he was about to do, and couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over her from the knowledge that it was because of her. 'This is not over Xellos; I will confront you with this-'

"WHAT!" An ear splitting screech was heard from the Lord Trogen, breaking Filia's thoughts as Oceus broke the news of the recent development.

"Now calm down sonny, let's just sit down and talk this out." Oceus tried to reason, but Trogen was not in the mood for reasoning.

"It can't be, my beautiful princess," Trogen glared at the gathered crowed. "This is a monsters doing, I can sense it; they have manipulated and tainted my fiancé's beautiful heart. Show yourself monster, come out and fight me." Trogen shouted as he pulled his decorative sword from his sheath and charged at the crowd. The guests started screaming as people scattered and headed for the exits, un-noticed in the commotion where two figures standing by a wall, both with devilish grins on their faces as they watched the chaos that ensued.

Filia was astounded that the prince would actually take a weapon and charge at an unsuspecting crowd; she hadn't been expecting that outcome when Xellos had filled her in on the plan. Speaking of which, where on earth did that monster go? Filia looked all around her hoping to spot the beast priest, but no such luck. "Xellos? Xellos where are you?" Filia called into the panic stricken crowd, taking no notice of her surroundings.

As Trogen paused for breath after chasing a suspicious screaming woman in a green dress he looked to his side and spotted Filia wandering the crowd looking rather lost, as he looked down he spotted something, on closer inspection it was proven to be a little pointed tail with a pink bow on the tip. Trogen growled as he lifted his sword once again. "DIE MONSTER!" He screamed a battle cry as he charged at Filia.

"Monster? Where?" Filia said puzzled as she looked around trying to spot what the voice was shouting at. Her only warning was a loud shout just before she spotted a blade coming straight at her head. Filia barely managed to duck in time to avoid being decapitated, rolling to the side and grabbing for her mace as she righted herself. When she managed to get back on her feet she held her head as her world continued to spin around her. She vaguely made out a second frustrated battle cry as the young lord righted himself and tried to charge her again. However before his blade could make contact Filia brought her mace up and blocked his attack to her shoulder. Filia could feel herself beginning to lose her focus as the Lord Trogen put his own weight into the blow in an attempt to overwhelm her. She knew her tail was clearly showing and she could feel her magic keeping her in her human form slipping ever so slowly.

'This is definitely NOT good.' Filia thought in panic as she was having more trouble than what she should at keeping Trogen from completely overpowering her. Filia gathered up all her strength in one large breath and put her full power into pushing back on the lord, successfully throwing him to the far side of the hall, unconscious, but unharmed.

Now all that was left was an unconscious royal and a furiously panting Filia, her tail sticking rigidly straight out behind her as she tried her best to calm down. As the tension slowly started to ebb out of Filia's shoulders it came roaring back as she finally started to notice the whispers amongst the other nobles still in the hall.

"F-Filia?" Filia whipped her head around and pinpointed the origin of the familiar voice. Oceus was looking at her, or rather her tail, as if it was one of the most horrifying sights he has ever been subject to.

"Y-Your Majesty, I…I…" Filia stuttered.

"You're a monster." Oceus said, Filia almost flinched at the tone of betrayal in his voice and on his face.

"No, I'm not a monster, I'm a…"

"Enough! I should have known better than to trust an outsider, GUARDS!" Oceus bellowed, in the next instant the hall was being flooded with the palace guards, at least 50 of them circling Filia, all of them raising their swards at the young dragoness.

"Orders your Highness? One of the guards asked as they all raised their swards a bit higher. A dark haired woman, Filia recognised her as one of the maids that attended her, walked up to Oceus and stepped behind him, clutching onto his arm as she peered fearfully out from around her protective barrier. Oceus turned his attention to the maid and grasped the hand clutching his arm with his free hand as he sought her eyes, a single tear making its way into one of his green eyes as he gave the command, not breaking the eye contact he held with the woman.

"Execute her."

Filia gasped as the soldiers all lunged towards her. She brought her mace up defensively, prepared to fight for her very life, but before the first blade could make contact with either flesh or mace, Filia disappeared. The guards looked around in confusion, wondering where she went, when suddenly laughter was herd from above where Filia was last standing. There floating in mid-air, one arm holding a red orb tipped staff, the other wrapped around the waist of a very disorientated and slightly irritated Filia, was Xellos, his usual genki smile in place as he surveyed the humans beneath them.

"Now is that any way to treat your guests Majesty? Invite them to dinner and execute them before bedtime?" Xellos chided as though he where speaking to a child.

Oceus began to turn red with rage as his fisted hands shook by his sides. "Get the flaming arrows, I wont them both executed for crimes against the city!" Oceus bellowed as a group of archers ran to the sides of the hall where the torches burned, lighting their specially made arrows and taking aim at the pair hovering in the centre of the room.

"Well now, this could get messy." Xellos pondered out loud as the archers made a circle around them, each drawing their bows and taking aim.

"XELLOS! What are you waiting for! We have to do something before someone gets hurt!" Filia squeaked in panic when she saw that Xellos wasn't making a single move to stop them or to evade the arrows.

"Ready! Aim! FIRE!" As the voice spoke the archers released their arrows, and for a split second just before the first volley reached its target Xellos's eyes flashed a ghostly blue, his grin turned wicked as the arrows came up to a shield of wind, blowing them away from himself and Filia and into the surrounding walls and furniture. Some of the arrows struck nearby curtains and tables, quickly setting them alight. The flames were quick to spread, and soon half the hall was aflame. Within seconds the hall was in chaos. People were running and screaming and pushing their way over each other trying to make it to the exits. Lay-la found herself being pushed towards the exit by a few of the guards that were able to separate themselves from the rest of the panic-stricken crowd. She managed to get one last look behind her into the burning building and at the man, no, the monster floating in the centre of the burning room, a smile on his face as he watched the people beneath him running in shear terror. A choked sob escaped her throat as she turned away from the sight of the being she could have fallen in love with, willing herself not to shed a tear, she followed the rest of the guests out into the castle grounds and out of harms way.

Oceus however was having a difficult time working his way to the exit, especially since he still had the hand of the maid that came up to him, clinging to her hand as if his very life depended on it. "Come on Veronica, we're almost there, just stay with me." Oceus yelled over the screams of the guests, all the while keeping the main exit doors in sight.

"My Lord, I don't think I can keep hold" Veronica cried as the congestion of people became too much and began to pull them apart. She could feel his hand slowly being torn away from her own. She tried desperately to keep up, but there were just too many people and she could hardly breath. She felt her foot catch on something and lost her balance, hitting her head on the unforgiving tiles below, leaving her helpless to the stampede of nobles rushing over her, barely batting an eye as the stepped over her still form.

"Veronica!" Oceus called as he used his brute force to power his way back to the maids form. Bending down he scooped her up in his arms and cradled her to his chest as he made his way out the doors.

By now the hall, or what was left of it, was nearly empty save for the two figures still floating in the centre of the burning building. One of the roof beams finally gave way and collapsed, narrowly missing the pair. Filia shrieked as the burning beam crashed to the floor, taking with it a portion of the roof. "Xellos! Are you listening to me you stupid namagomi, we have to get out of here or we'll be burned alive!"

"Calm down Fi-chan, it's not like the fire can honestly harm me" Xellos replied, not showing any signs of discomfort or worry.

"That's all well and good for you but incase you've forgotten I'm not exactly a hundred percent fire proof!" Filia nearly screamed at him, panic slowly but surely creeping into her voice.

"Nonsense, I'm not going to allow you to die over something so small as a few burns." Xellos replied as he opened one playfully serious eye at her.

Filia felt like ripping her hair out by this point. "Xellos we have to do something! We need to stop this fire before it spreads to the rest of the castle! Xellos please!" Filia cried out, desperation clearly herd in her tone.

Xellos sighed as he closed his eye again. "Oh very well, since you said please." This was the only reply she got before Xellos descended to the ground, gently setting Filia down in a space of floor clear from fire and debris. With his staff held in one hand he brought his hands together in front of his face, his lips moving in a silent spell. After a few seconds he snapped his eyes open as he held his arms out wide with a cry "Yaaaaaaaahhhhh" At his cry what could only be described as a strong red wind whirled around himself and quickly expanded to accommodate the entire hall. The wind seemed to suck in the flames as it came into contact. Within seconds the entire hall was free of flames, all that was remaining were the charred remains of the furniture and portions of the roof, the late afternoon light filtering its way through the remains of the shattered glass windows, highlighting the blackened walls of the once pristine ballroom.

Filia surveyed the damage in despair, bringing a hand to her mouth to muffle the sob that was threatening to escape her. "This is all my fault, if only I hadn't agreed to attend this stupid ball none of this would have happened." Filia said as she covered her face with both hands, not wanting to see the sight anymore.

"There's really no point in blaming all this on yourself. You're not the one who decided that shooting flaming arrows indoors was a good idea." Xellos replied casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're right! I should really be blaming _you_ for all of this!" Filia snapped, turning furious eyes to his emotionless face. "This was your stupid filthy mission, and you dragged me right into it!" Filia shouted at Xellos, she felt herself shake with the intensity of her anger as she let herself blow. "If I had known the reason why you were bringing me here I would never have left the bedroom! How dare you manipulate me, _lie_ to me to help fulfil one of your monstrous assignments!" By this point she had the beginnings of tears building up in the corners of her eyes. "Now because of you and your selfishness my reputation is completely ruined, I have a whole kingdom of people who would probably love to see me stoned to death, and I now have to live with the guilt of possibly causing serious harm to a member of a royal family, not to mention completely destroying any possible future negotiations between these two kingdoms, and it's all because I was foolish enough to _trust you!"_ Filia shrieked as she brought her mace up, aiming to strike him in his blank face, tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

Inches before the mace made contact Xellos's hand shot up, catching the mace and halting it mid swing. Filia's eyes widened in shock for a split second before they hardened into a glare as she struggled to free her weapon from his grasp. "Let…go you…stupid...ugh…I said let-" Filia was cut off when Xellos suddenly twisted his arm that held her mace around, spinning her with it, next thing she knew her arms were crossed in front of her with his arms pinning them to her sides and wrapping around her middle, completely restraining her. "Let me go you filthy namagomi, I said _let me go_!" Filia struggled with everything she could, she writhed and kicked and even tried smashing her head back into him, but nothing seemed to even remotely loosen his hold, if anything his grip seemed to tighten the more she struggled. The tears were flowing freely from her by now, it was not much longer before she stopped struggling and let herself go limp, relying on Xellos to keep her upright as she cried her eyes out in his grasp.

Xellos then rested his chin onto her shoulder, "Are you done yet?" he inquired, Filia could feel his chin moving on her shoulder as he spoke.

"Why! Are you going to try and make up some pathetic excuse to justify your actions namagomi!" Filia snapped, turning her head away from him.

"No I'm not, and even if I did try and justify myself you would never listen to me would you?" He didn't wait for an answer before he continued. "I was merely going to say that you're blowing this a little out of proportion. The fire's out, no one was seriously injured, and since when did you start caring about what others think of you again?"

"What are you talking about?" Filia asked in confusion, still not turning to face him.

Xellos brought his face closer to her neck, nuzzling her slightly. "You've disobeyed your elders, resigned your position as priestess, taken in a fugitive to your race as your own and you associate with the same monster who is responsible for the destruction of half your race, and you're worried about one small city that will now never have you over for lunch again? Is it just me or does that sound a little ridiculous?" Xellos spoke into her neck, a slight shiver going down her spine at the sensation.

"The point isn't whether or not I care what people think of me, the point is that you lied to me, I trusted you and you lied to me, after you swore to me that you wouldn't." Her heart clenched at her own words. She didn't know why but the fact that Xellos had actually betrayed her trust seemed to sting a lot more than she thought it should.

Xellos opened his eyes slightly, staring into the space in front of him. "And when exactly Fi-chan, did I lie to you? I may not have told you everything in regards to why we came here, but how does that equate to lying?"

"I don't know! It just does!" Filia began to squirm again, "Would you let me go already! I don't want you touching me."

"You're not going anywhere until we sort this out, so until then you might as well calm down or we'll be here for a very long time." Xellos replied calmly, no use letting his temper get the better of him, but L-sama she could be irritating, and stubbornly so.

"Grrr….Namagomi!" Filia exclaimed, all the while trying to get her rage in check. "Do you really expect me to just relax and take anything you say seriously?" Filia remarked snidely.

"Whether or not you take me seriously is your provocative, but I do expect you to listen, and listen well." Xellos replied. Filia didn't reply, but he knew she was listening from the slight tilt of her head back in his direction. "When a being such as myself is given an order by their master, it is our duty and obligation to follow said order, whether or not we agree with it doesn't matter. If I am ordered by my mistress to serve another lord, then I will grant my services to whomever she wishes, if I am ordered to kill every first born male, then I will have it done before the next sunrise, and if I am ordered to withhold information from someone, then not a whisper of a secret will leave my lips, no matter how much I may wish otherwise." Xellos said, letting no emotion enter his voice, keeping it as neutral as possible.

It was a short while before Filia answered. "And, did you wish it otherwise, this time?" Filia asked almost timidly, still keeping her eyes on the ground.

Xellos wore a thoughtful look as he considered her question. "Perhaps, understand that I would never disobey my mistress, even if I don't fully comprehend the reasons behind the decisions she makes. But it is not my place to question her motives, just as it is not your place to think that you have the right to know every little detail of what we do and why." Xellos finished on a stern note, hoping to get the message across to her.

"Who says it's not my place!" obviously they lost the connection somewhere along the line. "If you're gonna be dragging me into these situations then I think it is well within my right to know why! I know the Beastmaster is your mistress, but she is not mine. Meaning that it is she and you who are outside of your rights, giving me orders and expecting me to follow them without question. I am through with those days of doing what I'm told without being able to think for myself." Filia exclaimed, stomping her foot for good measure.

"I never said that you had to obey orders without thinking for yourself." Xellos interrupted her little rant. "In fact I want you to use that head of yours more often. I didn't spend all that time getting you to question your elders' beliefs for nothing you know." 'Well really I was doing it because it was funny to see her so confused and conflicted about her whole upbringing, but she doesn't have to know that.' "All I'm saying is that you're trying to contend with forces far more superior to your own, and sometimes it's in everyone's best interest to know as little as possible and to reveal as little as possible." Xellos said as he closed his eyes again.

There was a deathly silence before she finally spoke. "Xellos, could you please let me go now?" Filia said with a resigned sigh.

"Hmm, I don't know, are you going to stop trying to run off if I do?" Xellos replied, some of his usual humour creeping back into his voice.

"I wont run" Filia said earnestly. Xellos felt for her emotions and felt no dishonesty in her and so relinquished his hold on her slowly, ready to act incase she decided to change her mind. When she was finally free from his arms she took a step back, putting him just outside his arms reach and just stood there facing him. "Out of curiosity, what would you have done if I did run?" Filia asked, fiddling with the ends of her long hair.

At her question Xellos gave his usual trickster smile, "Let's just say you wouldn't have lasted long before you regretted ever turning your back to me and leave it at that." Xellos said with a smirk as he watched the dragoness fidget before him.

"So, I guess this means that no matter what there will always be secrets between us." Filia said as she turned her face down and away from him, hiding her eyes behind her bangs.

Xellos face turned serious again. "Welcome to reality Filia, the world isn't perfect, and you should never expect the people in it to be perfect either. Yes, there will be secrets, but neither you nor I, or anyone else can change that." Xellos tilted his head to the side. "Idealism is a funny thing, it can be the driving force behind the world to try and make it a better place, but at other times it can only lead to disappointment." Xellos stepped closer to the blonde in front of him, bringing a finger under her chin and tilting her face up to him. He looked into her tear stained face, using his thumb to brush away the remaining trail of tears from her cheeks.

"You do realise that I can't stop myself from hoping, there's nothing wrong with having high ideals." Filia said barely above a whisper as Xellos cleaned her face.

"I know, and I can't stop you. Just be warned that it probably will only lead to disappointment, and try not to let yourself be too affected by it, you're no fun if you're depressed all the time, that's what Zelgadis is for." Xellos replied with a smile.

Filia felt her lip twitch just a fraction before she managed to stop herself from smiling; no matter the situation the mention of her old friends always brought a smile to her face.

Sensing that her emotions had lightened somewhat, Xellos removed his hand. "We should probably head back. If you like we can finish this conversation later, when-" Xellos paused, his face took on a look of concentration before his eyes snapped open, he stepped forward and grabbed Filia's hand. "Come one, we have to go back now." Xellos said, his voice deadly serious.

Filia, who was slightly startled but his rather drastic mood change, could only stumble forward as Xellos pulled on her hand. "Xellos? What's wro-" Xellos teleported before she could finish.

…...

Lay-la knocked the brass knocker the wooden door. After a moment of silence a gruff voice from the other side of the door replied "Enter." With a moments hesitation Lay-la timidly opened the door, revealing her brother seated behind a large desk, papers strewn all along it's surface along with countless envelopes and a couple of empty coffee mugs, one mug was still half full as Oceus brought it up to his lips and skulled the whole lot in one swig. The princess observed that her brother, who always took great pride in how he looked, was a mess. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks and his clothing was worn and wrinkled, large patches of sweat covering the area around his arms and neck. Oceus put down his mug and looked at his little sister, "Oh, it's you" Oceus said, Lay-la could hear the disdain in his voice when he addressed her, ever since the incident that's all he's ever called her, 'you'.

She stepped through the door and closed it behind her quietly as her brother turned his eyes back to the documents in front of him. "Oceus, big brother please will you just look at me and listen?" Lay-la pleaded, taking a step closer to the desk.

"And why should I? Every time I listen to you, disaster happens! First it was the fishing boat incident when you where 5, then the time with the thousand kittens at the harvest festival when you where 14, and now this!" Oceus exclaimed, motioning to his desk full of paper and documents.

Lay-la visibly twitched at her brothers harsh words. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen." Lay-la said, choking back a sob as she faced her brother, willing him to see that she was serious this time.

"Whether you meant for it to happen or not doesn't matter. What matters is that because you put your wants before everyone's needs, you have cost us our pride, our dignity, part of our home and our kingdom's future, not to mention the trust of half the population. Now most of the people think that we are in the habit of entertaining wild beasts and letting them in to destroy our homes. It's a miracle that Thure hasn't declared war on us for the attempted assassination of their crowned prince. We barely managed to get out of that with a declaration that any trades with Thure will be henceforth obsolete." Oceus dropped the official letter from the royal advisers stating this fact on the table in clear view for Lay-la to see.

"Is the prince ok?" Lay-la asked, her voice barely coming out above a whisper.

"He's fine, his personal guards and advisers managed to get him out before the monsters set the place on fire. Although he is undergoing extensive psychological treatments from the ordeal. His advisers, Ragnu and Belsar, have taken over his royal duties until he is deemed fit to rule again." Oceus replied tiredly as he rested his head against his hand supported by his elbow on the table, paying no mind to the papers he was leaning on.

"You should really try getting some sleep brother, you look terrible." Lay-la said as she saw him try to stifle a yawn.

"I would love to, but right now I can't. I've got papers to sign, builders to organise, trade agreements to revise, not to mention all the complaints from the general public to deal with." Oceus said, his voice sounding more worn and tired the longer the list got.

"You really shouldn't push yourself so much, just please take the rest of the night off and relax for a little while. Have you even been to see Veronica yet?" Lay-la asked, trying desperately to get her brother to forget his duties for a while, lord knows he needed the break.

Oceus finally looked into his sisters eyes since the incident, however there was no anger in his gaze, merely tired relief. "I've seen her once, the doctors say she will be fine, nothing more than a few bad bruises and a rather hard hit to the head, he's suggested bed rest and ice, and that she not strain herself for a couple of weeks, but otherwise she should be up and walking around in about a week." Oceus finished as he rose from his chair. "But I would still like to go and see her I guess, make sure she's comfortable and taken care of." He said as he made his way past lay-la and towards the door.

"Wait for me, I want to come too." She said as she went to catch him before he left. "I want to see what is so special about this woman who managed to get the great proud Oceus break generations of traditions and take a maid as his first wife and queen." She said with a small but sincere smile as she walked with her brother down the hall.

…

Okay, so was that ok? I didn't disappoint anyone did I? Please leave a review and tell me what you think so far. Any suggestions you think might help, any factors I need to work on (beside spelling and grammar, I already know I'm lacking at that, it's a work in progress). So just turn your eyes down a bit, see the button that says 'Review this chapter', click on it and leave a comment and we'll all be happy, thanks, chow!


	20. Chapter 20

Authors note: Howdy again, long time no see guys, well nothing spectacular, here is chapter 20, it took a while simply for the fact that this posting day is my first somewhat day off in 20 days and I was tired and couldn't be stuffed writing at the time. That does not mean I gave up, just that I exchanged story time for sleep, kinda a necessity for me these days, anyway ENJOY.

PS I do not own slayers

**Chapter 20**

Xellos appeared back on Wolf Pack Island. As they rematerialized Xellos dropped Filia's hand and quickly made his way down the hall. Filia blinked to get her bearings and noticed that he was heading to her (his) room where they had left Jilas. Filia felt panic start to rise in her as she ran after him. Xellos had stopped when he reached the door, Filia managed to push her way past him and into the room. The first thing she noticed was the turned over table and the scratched chairs, the next thing she noticed was that there was no sign of Jilas (blood or otherwise), but the next thing she noticed made her hear stop and her blood turn cold, there was no song of Val's egg. All that was left was his basket on its side on the floor, the green blankets and padding strewn on the ground. Filia rushed into the room and fell to her knees in front of the basket, picking up the blanket that lined the basket and holding it to her heart. Filia felt the beginnings of desperate tears forming in her eyes, "Xellos, where is he? Where is _my HATCHLING!_" She shrieked as she snapped her head towards him, her eyes burning a bright red as her hair started to whip around her from the sheer power she was emitting.

"Filia, be quiet and calm down, I'm trying to concentrate." Xellos's voice was strained as he resisted the urge to yell as well, he needed to conserve his energy for locating the fox and egg. Honestly he couldn't figure out why he didn't sense something sooner, the part of him in the flower only managed to sense the fear from the fox not too long ago. He started to feel the familiar aura close by. "We're not too late; they're still in the castle." Xellos assured the enraged dragoness as he focused on pin-pointing the pairs' location. His closed eyes then snapped open, "Found them, east wing, ball room." Before Xellos could even think of blinking Filia was out the door past him and bolting down the hall towards the east wing as if her very life depended on it, unknowingly still clutching the blanket. "Filia! Stupid dragon." Xellos muttered as he took flight after her, within seconds he was flying beside her, "Filia you stupid girl, it would be a lot quicker if we just teleported." Xellos snapped as he snatched her up from her sprint and phased out.

He reappeared with Filia just inside the huge double doors leading into the massive ball room, as Filia managed to get her footing back she turned her head up, her eyes widened, her pupils constricted and her mouth widened in a blood curdling scream. In the hall there where what appeared to be two children, the older one looking as young as twelve and the other ten, both of them flying around the hall as Jilas ran after them as they threw Val's fragile egg between them. The little monsters laughed as poor Jilas ran between them as they played keep away with the egg, tears pouring down the fox's face as he screamed and begged for them to give him back the egg.

"Ooooh please, I'm beggin ya's, please give th' master bac', spare 'im please!" Jilas was in tears when he noticed Xellos and Filia arrive.

"Boss! They got th' master, we 'ave ta do sumfin!"

"Oi fox! Watch it!" the younger of the children yelled as Jilas made a jump for the egg, barely tapping its surface, but the tap was all that was needed to divert the egg from its path to the other monster and now heading straight into the very much solid wall.

"Aaaaah!" Both Jilas and Filia screamed in unison, both knowing that they would never intercept the egg in time, however before the egg could make contact Xellos appeared and caught the egg using the green blanket he managed to swipe from Filia before he teleported, effectively slowing the eggs fall gently. Filia and Jilas both let out sighs of utter relief as Xellos got a secured grip on the egg and descended to the ground. As he touched down Filia ran up to him and held her hands out, accepting her precious treasure back, holding the wrapped up egg to her heart in relief.

Xellos turned away from her, facing the two monster children still floating in mid-air, his mouth in a thin, straight line and his eyes hidden behind his bangs. "Ray. Dean. Would you two please come here for a moment?" Xellos said, his voice flat and even, not giving anything away. The two children gave and audible gulp and floated down. The older looking of the two, a girl, was the first to touch down. She had long, pitch black hair braided from the top of her head and going all the way down to her ankles where it was fastened with a black leather band with small spikes adorning it. She had a black mid-drift with long arms that flared out after her elbows and a similar pair of pants that flared after her knees, along with a black cape and hood fastened around her neck with a bright green gemstone in the centre to match her eyes.

The second child, a boy, landed beside her. He had very short but curly orange hair and matching orange eyes. He dressed with a simple orange shirt and pants, along with shoulder guards, chest plate, shin and arm guards, all orange and with black tiger stripes.

The two little monsters timidly approached Xellos, keeping their heads down but their eyes up. Filia watched as they both raised their heads towards him and-

THWACK! THWACK!

Both the monsters were on the floor clutching their heads where they each had a large bump from where Xellos had struck each with his staff.

"Hey you lunatic! What in Hellmaster was that for!" the girl exclaimed, shooting daggers at the priest.

"That Ray, was for entering my room without permission." Xellos replied calmly, his smile slowly coming back.

"WHAT! They nearly destroy my egg and that's all you're going to do to them!" Filia fumed, not believing that a simple smack on the head was nearly enough punishment for almost turning the last of a whole race into an omelette.

Xellos just shrugged his shoulders. "What else can I do, they are just doing what monsters do, no point punishing them for that, it's the going into my quarters that's got me…irritated." Xellos finished, thinking 'irritated' was putting it lightly.

"But I didn't go in your room; I just waited until the fox guy came out." Ray replied, a mischievous smile of her own making itself known on her features.

"Same here, I never even set foot inside that place." Dean added in as he righted himself.

Xellos opened one of his eyes and studied the two before him intently. "You're both lying. You," Xellos pointed to Ray, "went into my room first using your ability to become a shadow, probably looking for something to relieve your boredom, and noticed Jilas in the room looking after an egg. Thinking you could have some fun, you went and got Dean here," He now gestured to the boy, "and set a trap for Jilas. Now knowing your tactics you probably somehow managed to get Jilas to step outside the barrier around the door, hence nullifying it and allowing Dean to get in and steal the egg. So," Xellos looked between the two, "how did you convince Jilas to step outside the door?" Xellos asked with genuine curiosity.

"They played a 'orrible tric' on me!" Jilas put in, tears still running down his face. "I thought I 'erd th' boss callin me, so I's stepped ou'side ta see if she was bac', an' then these monstars' came at me an' took th' youn' master, I tried to save 'im boss, I really did, bu' I jus' couldn' ge' 'im bac'"

"Hmm, I see. I'm guessing that was you again Miss Raychella." Xellos said as he opened an eye at the young monster before him as she gave him a sheepish grin, putting a hand at the back of her head, imitating one of Xellos's own signature poses.

"Well what do you know, I guess it was me." She replied with a mocking wink.

"Xellos, something's happening!" Filia exclaimed as she studied the egg in her hands. She had removed the blanket to check for damage to the egg, the moment it came in contact with her skin the egg began to glow a bright green. It wasn't too long before it began to pulse in her grasp, sounding almost like a heartbeat.

Xellos narrowed his eyes at the egg and approached her. "Let me have a look" He said as he raised his hand to it. Not sure what was going on Filia obliged and lifted the egg up to him for his inspection. Very carefully Xellos raised his hand and brushed the surface of the egg with his fingertips, at the slight contact the egg was enveloped in a blinding light, the occupants of the room all shielded their eyes from the intensity, and even Xellos threw his arm over his eyes to protect them.

Filia felt the egg begin to grow hotter in her hands, and then, it started to shake. She could hear the very distinctive noise of cracking coming from the egg and could feel pieces of shell falling out of her hands and onto the floor. Finally the light began to dim, and all that was herd was a final loud crack before the tell tale whine of a new born dragon that was now being hastily caught and held by a stunned mother as she tried to process what just happened.

'He hatched. He's finally hatched' Filia was stunned speechless as she adjusted her hold on the little ancient dragon. His eyes where still closed as he fidgeted in her arms, his wings flapping every now and again as his tail lashed wildly before wrapping around one of the soft bare arms that where holding him.

Xellos studied the young dragon as Filia gently bounced and rocked it side to side, a glazed look on her face as she slowly came to terms with entering motherhood. 'Strange, I've never seen anything like this before. I do believe this is the first time I have seen a dragon egg hatch. But why did it hatch now, and not any other time? This could spell trouble in the near future. Surely Filia would not wish for him to be here in the castle as such a vulnerable time. Would he even be safe here?' These and many more questions where flying through Xellos's head as he slowly approached Filia and the infant, wanting to get a closer look at his old target.

Filia saw movement from the corner of her eye and took a hasty step back from the beast priest as he got closer, holding young Val to her in a protective embrace. "Xellos, what are you doing?" Filia asked, suspicion clearly evident in her voice and in her eyes as she interrogated him.

Xellos looked away from the baby dragon and glanced at Filia's eyes with his own opened ones. "I wasn't going to hurt him; I just wanted to get a proper look at him." Xellos said, his voice and stance hiding no falsehood.

Filia briefly hesitated as she looked between the hatchling and the monster. "Well, ok. But don't you dare try anything, or so help me I will find a way to kill you." Filia threatened as she positioned the still squirming dragon into a more comfortable hold that allowed Xellos easier access.

As Xellos took a step forwards Jilas thought it appropriate to put in his own opinion. "Bu' boss, wha' if he tries ta kill th' master? He's a monstar, he's prob'bly lyin'" Jilas pleaded as he stared with fear as Xellos neared her and young Val.

"While I may have my secrets, I make it a habit not to lie, Mr Jilas" Xellos said as he stared down at the baby that used to be the abomination named Valgaav, created by and loyal servant to the Demon-Dragon King Lord Gaav. The same being that very nearly took his own life and attempted to bring the whole world into darkness, was now this same small creature that was nuzzling into Filias arms as it chirped and whined for his first feed.

"Amazingly beautiful isn't it?" Filia said as she looked at the young dragon, gently stroking its neck to help sooth its fidgeting.

"More like amazingly sickening if you ask me." Dean butted in, everyone turning their attention towards the disgusted face of the monster child. "Xellos I have no idea how you are able to stand so close to that thing, it reeks of new life, and don't even get me started on all those things the gold is letting off. Now I'm going to be feeling the affects of this for days, maybe even weeks."

"Nobody asked you, you filthy mongrel." Filia snapped at the monster, securing her hold on the young Val.

"Hey watch it blondie!"

"Who are you calling blondie carrot head!"

"Why I outghta…!"

"Ah excuse me, but I think it would be a wise choice if you two quiet down, I don't think young Val here likes all the yelling." Xellos said breaking the two out of their verbal war when he noticed the baby ancient start to tear up at his mothers' distress.

"Oh dear, it's alright honey, mommy's here, shhhh, it's ok it's ok, calm down Val." Filia cooed as she gently bounced and rocked the crying dragon, positioning the blanket around its body and making her way out of the room and into the hallway, intending to go back to her room to care for him, Jilas jogging after her when she walked out of the doors. The remaining monsters stared after the retreating pair as they slowly disappeared down the corridor. Ray was the first to break the silence;

"So, what are you planning to do now mister Xellos, now that you have a hatchling to deal with?" Ray questioned as she crossed her arms and regarded the unusually quiet trickster priest.

Xellos was pondering this particular development himself, he hadn't really spent as much thought as he should have on how to deal with the hatchling, not expecting him to hatch until much later down the track. Now that he thought about it, this could prove to be a major drawback in his plan if left unmanaged. Filia would understandably not wish to be separated from the infant, the question was could he ensure the safety of the child while it was in monster territory? Heck what does a healthy dragon need in order to stay healthy? In all his years of slaying dragons Xellos had very little knowledge of the development stages a dragon would go through. Dragons would usually hide themselves away with their eggs when their hatching time came close, usually a week before the expected date, giving the soon-to-be parent/s time to gather whatever they needed to care for their young, and would not be seen again until the younglings where able to hunt and feed themselves, usually up to at least 6 months later. But what happens with them in those 6 months no one outside the dragon race themselves knows. Was Filia even aware of how to take care of a baby? Val isn't her biological child, so the needs of a baby gold might be completely different from a baby ancients needs. Although Filia did say something about a book she was reading regarding the topic, he was still going to need to find out a few other basic things about childcare. Xellos smiled to himself, 'it's just another challenge that I will eventually come to master.' with this thought in mind he turned to the two monster standing behind him, still awaiting his reply.

"I want you two to inform the mistress as well as the other two of what has happened here. Get Sam to do some digging on ancient dragons, anything she can find out I want reported to me. I want at least one of you to watch Filia and the infant at all times when I am not around. Absolutely no harm is to come to them; otherwise thing could get, unpleasant." Xellos said cheerfully as he gave his signature wink and finger wag at the two, both of them suppressing shivers at what was meant by 'unpleasant'.

"And what are you heading off to do while we're playing messenger?" Dean enquired as Xellos turned to leave.

"Oh me? I have my own information gathering to do. Just that mine involves a more…practical demonstration." Xellos replied as he grinned and phased out.

The two monsters looked at each other in brief confusion before shrugging their shoulders and phasing out to do their assigned tasks.

"I'll have this, this and this, and make it double." Said a familiar voice

"Double!"

"And I'll have three serving of this and this, plus two of everything from here to here." Said another voice.

"Everything!"

"Oh and she'll have a serving of these three and, what desert would you like honey?"

"Oh um, I want that one and that one mommy." Replied a small, enthusiastic voice.

"Hmm, good choice honey, make that three servings for us as well." Said the first voice.

"Uh, y-yes ma'am." Said the astounded waiter as he scurried back to the kitchen of the little restaurant. "Hey Stanley, we have a major issue here, the table with the redhead and two blondes just ordered 27 servings!"

"27! Are you kidding me boy? Who would order 27 servings of anything?"

"Table 8 apparently."

…

"Hey Lina, are we going to have enough money for all of this, we haven't looted any bandits in a while?" Asked Gourry as he looked at the prices of the food they had just ordered.

"That's because Amaya is still too young to take bandit hunting with us, and would you leave your five year old daughter with a complete stranger you don't even think you can trust?" Lina countered as she pointed an accusing fork at the blonde swordsman.

"I guess not." He replied soberly as he brushed his fingers through his daughters golden locks as she giggled up at him with ruby red eyes.

"Of course you wouldn't. Besides don't worry about the tab, I have enough money stored away in the sorcerers guild to last us for a long while yet." Lina said triumphantly as she laid back in her chair with her arms behind her head in a relaxed pose.

"As organised as ever I see, then again it should be common knowledge that the infamous Lina Inverse would never leave something up to chance if she could help it, isn't that right Miss Inverse, or is it Mrs Gabriev now?" said the all too familiar disembodied voice as Lina jumped from her seat and into a fighters stance as Gourry stood in front of his daughter, ready to draw his sword.

"XELLOS! You creep come out where I can see you!" Lina demanded as she glared at the surrounding restaurant full of startled faces.

"Now now Miss Lina, no need to get all testy on me." Xellos said as he appeared before the group, taking a seat in the only unoccupied chair between Lina and her child. "I just wanted to pop in and see how you and your new family where doing." Xellos said calmly as the sorceress glared at him with eyes of liquid fire as he sat between her and her child, a rather dangerous place for any being, human or otherwise, to be in.

"Don't pull that crap with me Xellos; you never pop in just to say 'hi', what is up your sleeve this time? And I what a straight answer right now!" Lina demanded as she loomed over the smiling priest, her fists clenched at her sides as Gourry took this opportunity to pick Amaya up from her seat and sit her down on his lap away from the guy with the purple hair, what was his name again? Cherros? Zebros?

Xellos regarded the sorceress from his seat, his face turned serious. "Well if you must know, I've also come here to do a bit of research." Xellos replied.

"Research? On what exactly?" Lina said as she took her own seat, her eyes never leaving his face.

Xellos looked towards the swordsman and where he held his daughter, a thoughtful look crossing his face as he turned back to the curious bandit killer. "I guess you could say I'm doing a study on parenting." Xellos replied with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Parenting? Why would you need to do a study on parenting?" Lina asked in suspicious curiosity.

"Now that is, a secret" Xellos said with a wink as he wagged his finger at the now fuming redhead.

"Why does that not surprise me? Well, if it will get you out of my hair sooner, what did you need to know?" Lina asked as she rested her elbows on the table with her head held up by her hands.

"Hmm, how about we start with what an infant needs to survive and we'll work from there." Xellos replied as he sat back in his seat with his arms crossed.

"Oh, well um food is a major issue. Newborns tend to live on their mothers milk for the first few months of their life, but as they get older you can start to ween them off with formula bottled milk, and eventually onto soft foods and baby mush and eventually solids. Children require a lot of attention, pretty much 24 hour surveillance, or as close to as you can get. Then there is the diaper changing and eventually the potty training." Lina explained

"Potty training?" Xellos asked

"Teaching them how to relieve themselves without doing it in their pants." Lina replied. "Besides the obvious major role of caring and providing for a child, it is also the parents' job to educate their kids to an extent. You know teach them how to go to the potty, teach them to walk, talk, sometimes to read and write, and eventually to teach them right from wrong and you know, basic stuff about the world so when they do go out on their own, you'll know you have taught them everything they need to know to survive in this world." She said as her gaze drifted to where Gourry was playing peek-a-boo with Amaya, a gentle smile crossing her lips. "Even then, you can teach them everything you know, but when they go to walk out that door you can't help but wonder, 'was it enough? Will they be ok? How will they cope?'" she turned her attention back to the monster, "it's every parents worst fear that they believe that they haven't taught them enough and their child gets hurt as a result, or that they where too young in the first place to go out on their own. No matter how old they get, a parent will always remember them as the defenceless little infant that they held protectively in their arms. But eventually, they would have to trust that they did all they could, and to trust that the child will make the right choices in life." Lina said in a far away voice, a sad smile now making its way on her face. "I just hope that I am making the right choices in what is best for Amaya." Lina said as she regarded her daughter, and how precious the time she had with her was before she grew up and wanted her own adventures without her or her dad their to watch out for her.

"Hmm, I see." Xellos said as he too regarded the little girl. 'I'm not sure how much of that information could relate to raising a baby dragon, but I would assume that most of the principles would be the same. Food, shelter, attention and education seem to be the main focus for child rearing. But judging by Miss Lina's emotions I'm guessing there is more to it than that, something a bit deeper than ensuring one's bloodline was continued.' Xellos filed away the thought for later inspection.

"Mommy, mommy! Food's here!" little Amaya cried in delight as a group of waiters placed armfuls of plates onto the table. The three human occupants of the table eyed the food hungrily before diving into the banquette. Gourry sat Amaya back down on her seat and Lina separated her food from the rest before diving into her own food with Gourry close behind.

Xellos chuckled to himself. "It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same." He said as the pair sank back into an age old battle of who the chicken belonged to.

"Hey mister?" Xellos felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down at the child beside him.

"Yes little one?" Xellos replied as he leaned down to her level.

"You want some food? You can share some of mine." Amaya said with a smile as she held out a small plate with a couple of child bite-sized pieces of food on it.

Xellos smiled at the little girl. "My aren't you the sweet little thing, thank you." Xellos said as he took the small plate and put a piece in his mouth. Amaya giggled and tugged on his sleeve again.

"Hey mister, why you asking about babies? Do you have a baby?" the child asked in curiosity.

Xellos smiled as a thought entered his head. "Well I guess you could say that. I was also curious and I wanted to know. Don't you ever get curious little one?" Xellos asked

"U-huh. I just ask mommy and daddy and they tell me." Amaya replied as she pointed at her parents and then to herself.

"Is that so? Did they tell you about babies too?" Xellos asked as he leaned back down to her height.

Amaya looked down at her plate as if in deep thought. She looked back up at Xellos with a confused look "No, how come they told you but not me?" the child asked in almost hurt confusion.

"Because I asked them, did you ask them?"

"No."

"How come? Don't you want a baby too?"

Amaya smiled. "Can I have a baby! I want a baby too just mommy and daddy and you mister!" she squealed, bouncing in her chair for effect. "How do get a baby too!"

Xellos looked at the girls parents and was pleased to see that they where too engrossed in their food war to notice their conversation.

Xellos looked back towards the child. "Well I'm sure that if you explain your wishes that to your parents they will be more than happy to answer your question." Xellos said as he silently rose from his seat. "I have to go now ok? Don't forget to ask your parents." Xellos said as he winked at the child, phasing out with a smile.

"Ok mister." Amaya replied to thin air as she turned her attention back to her parents. They where both still going at their food, they didn't even realize that the man with the purple hair had left already. 'hmm, how do I get mommy and daddy to stop eating so I can ask them?' Amaya thought to herself, she looked around and a thought struck her. She climbed onto the table and pointed at the entrance to the restaurant. "Mommy look! It's Aunty Luna!" Amaya exclaimed. Lina's eyes bulged and she fell from her seat coughing and chocking when she tried to scream with a mouthful of food. Gourry got up and went around to her, helping her up and hitting her back to dislodge the food. She finally managed to cough up the piece of chicken and take in a huge gulp of air, quickly darting her head from side to side in fear.

"Where is she, where is she? Oh Cepheid hide me!" Lina exclaimed as she ducked under the table. Amaya giggled as she hung her head over the edge of the table to look at her mother.

"Oops sorry mommy, it was someone else." Amaya said with a smile on her face.

"Huh? Amaya did you do that on purpose?" Lina said as she righted herself from under the table.

"What are you talking about mommy? I thought I saw Aunty Luna, but I didn't, I'm sorry mommy." Amaya said, lowering her head and giving her mother the best innocent look she could muster without breaking into giggles.

Lina's eyes softened as she waved her hand. "Oh never mind Amaya, it's alright" she said as her daughters eyes lit up again, Gourry ruffling her hair playfully.

"Hey mommy, daddy, can I ask you something?" Amaya asked as her parents sat back down.

"Sure, what did you want to know?" Lina replied

"I wanted to know how do I get a baby?" Amaya asked.

Both Lina and Gourry face-faulted out of their seats in pure shock.

"Whaaa? Where did that come from!" Gourry asked as he was the first to recover.

Amaya looked toward her father. "Well mommy was telling the mister about babies. I told him I wanted a baby and he said to ask you if I can have one. Please daddy, I want a baby, can I please have a baby, I want to know how I get a baby!" Amaya pleaded with her father. Gourry's face lost all colour as he fell back to the ground, out cold.

Lina stood up from her spot on the ground, her whole body shaking in barely contained fury, "XELLOS! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

_A few days later…_

Filia was beginning to think that she was in over her head on this one, and she didn't just mean that in the metaphorical sense. "Val will you come down from there before you hurt yourself!" Filia said in frustration as she made another attempt to catch him off the small chandelier in the room she had inhabited since her stay on Wolf Pack Island. She was currently balancing on a small cushioned chair and trying to jump up to the baby dragon as he swung upside down, just out of her reach. "Val come here this instant! I don't know why you're getting so worked up about this, it's just a bath"

Val made a sort of whining sound as he readjusted his hold on the chandelier, his wings flaying around, still not developed enough for flight. He finally managed to curl his tail around one of the chains holding the chandelier up as he began to gnaw on another, his tiny teeth too small and underdeveloped to cause any real damage as he teethed.

Filia sighed, "maybe I should have gone back home with Jilas, at least then Gravos would be around to get Val down from all the high places," Filia looked up at Val with her hands on her hips, "I still haven't figured out how you managed to get up there in the first place."

"Hehe shows how much attention you pay Fi-chan." A voice floated around near where Val was hanging.

Filia glared at the empty air. "Oh? And I suppose you saw how he managed to get up there?" she snapped at the materializing form of Xellos as he hovered cross-legged beside Val as he swung back and forth.

"Naturally, it was really quite the endeavour." Xellos smiled as he held a finger up.

Filia waited a few seconds. "So what? Aren't you going to tell me?" she asked in annoyance.

"Hmm, no, I don't think so." Xellos mused

"XELLOS!"

"Hmhm, I believe that it would be more amusing if you found out on your own." He said as he floated closer to the hatchling, clicking his tongue and wriggling his fingers at the dragon, gently coaxing him from his new favourite swing and into his lap. "There we go now, come on before your mother blows her top off." Xellos said softly as the young dragon made himself comfortable in his lap. Xellos looked down at a very red Filia and chuckled, "In more ways than one I see."

Filia's face grew darker if that was even possible, "H-hush you! Just bring him down here."

He smiled down at her, but did as she wanted and landed softly on the ground and handed the fidgeting hatchling to her.

"Honestly I don't see why you didn't just levitate up to him; it would have saved you a lot of trouble." Xellos commented as he leaned against the vanity as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"I-I don…_mumblemumble_" Filia muttered as she turned her head away from him and headed towards the bathroom.

"What was that Fi-chan? I didn't quite catch that." Xellos asked as he tilted his ear towards her.

"I SAID I don't…I can't…I never learnt, properly…how to…levitate…so to speak." Filia trailed of as she held Val standing by the bathroom door, gently stroking his neck to quiet him down.

Xellos raised one eyebrow at her. "Is that so? Well how is it that you can cast a chaotic disintegrate, but you can't even cast a simple levitation spell? Even some of the most mediocre sorcerers could accomplish that little spell." Xellos enquired as he regarded the dragoness. Surely even she must know how ridiculous this all sounded.

"Would you stop rubbing it in! I never learnt how to do it properly because I never saw a need to. I'm a dragon Xellos; I usually don't need to use levitation to be air-borne, at least not until recently." He could feel the sadness from her as memories of her lost flight trickled through her mind. She gently shook her head in an attempt to banish the thoughts from her mind, with little success. She gave Xellos a hard look, "Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me. Val gets real fidgety in the bath." Filia said as she walked into the tiled bathroom and to the half filled wooden in-ground tub she had been preparing when Val decided that the ceiling looked like a much better play area than the one she had made on the floor.

Xellos shrugged his shoulders and gradually made his way into the bathroom behind her. Filia gave the squirming Val to Xellos as she knelt down and felt the temperature of the water. Satisfied that it wasn't going to burn her baby she took off the bath robe she had been wearing, revealing the dark blue one-piece swim suite she had on and climbed into the tub and sat down on a little ledge that was just below the surface of the water, tying her long hair up as she did. She held her arms out to Xellos, "Pass him here please." She said to him. He nodded and passed Val down to her. Val began to whine as he neared the water, so Filia sat him on her lap and cooed at him until he settled back down and eventually got used to the water. When Filia was sure that he was ok she held him to her and slid off the seat, the water now only coming up to her mid-section as she gently set Val in the water and slowly let go of him, keeping her hands underneath him incase he started to fret over the loss of support. Val however seemed perfectly at home in the water as he started to paddle in the water, swimming around the small confines of the tub. Filia smiled at him as she reached for the side of the tub to grab the soap.

"Would you two mind if I joined you?" Xellos piped up as he smiled down at them with one eye open.

Filia looked up at him, studying his face to gage if he was hiding any ulterior motives. She had no doubt that he was planning something in that head of his, but she was sure that he wouldn't really try anything with Val here. He may be a monster, but she was pretty sure even he had standards. Still, you can never be too careful when dealing with the trickster priest. "Fine, but no funny business, and you're going to need to change your clothes; you are way overdressed for swimming." Filia replied as she grabbed the soap and made her way towards Val.

"Oh? Would you rather I have no clothes at all?" Xellos smirked at the now blushing Filia.

"NO! You pervert, Val is right here! I mean get into some swim wear you hentai namagomi." Filia fumed as she managed to gently catch said hatchling and started rubbing her now soapy hands over Val's back and on his wings.

"Whatever you say Fi-chan." Xellos said as his clothes disappeared and instead he was standing there shirtless and in a pair of dark blue swimming trunks that just _happened_ to match Filia's own swim suite perfectly. Filia narrowed her eyes at him as he too climbed into the tub with them. The tub itself was rather large and fit the three of them comfortably while still having room to move around, it was more of a very small swimming pool than just a simple tub with a ledge running around the whole thing acting as a seat. Xellos reached behind him and grabbed a scrubbing brush and lathered it with a small amount of soap and began lightly scrubbing the baby dragons head and neck, being careful to avoid his face as he did so.

Val closed his eyes and started making a little purring noise at the back of his throat, especially when Filia rubbed the spot between his wings and Xellos scrubbed _just so_ behind his ears. Suddenly Val vigorously shook his head and neck, sending soap suds flying and managing to hit Filia square in the face. Filia opened her eyes as she heard a giggle, her blue eyes standing out against her bubble covered face as she glared at Xellos, who was by now laughing out right as he pointed at her. What Xellos did not expect was the soaked washing rag that connected with his face, effectively shutting him up as he stared in astonishment as the rag slid down his face, revealing Filia nearly doubled over with laughter and Val having his own little laugh in between them.

Neither of them saw the look of pure mischief on Xellos's face as he quietly disappeared under the water, the water now too soapy to see through. Filia was laughing so hard she didn't notice Xellos's disappearance through the tears in her eyes. As she was wiping them away she felt something brush past her ankle. The sensation made her jump and she frantically looked around trying to figure out what it was. She then felt the same sensation on the back of her knee, this made her whole body flinch and back away, she was rather sensitive there. But as she was backing away something wrapped around her ankle, holding her in place as she felt hands begin to tickle her from the souls of her feet to the middle of her thighs.

"Hehehahaha nononono hahaha Xellos! Hahaha no Hehaha Stop, hahahahaha please don't Hahahaha stop! Hehahahaheha." Filia said as she tried to wriggle away from his hold

Suddenly Xellos's head surfaced, "Please don't stop? Alright then, I wont" Xellos smiled as he pulled her feet from under her and started tickling her sides.

"Ahahahaha Xellos you namagomi! Hahahe I said stop! Please hehehahaha." Filia finally managed to wriggle out of his hold and grabbed the scrubbing brush. "I think someone needs to clean their ears out." Filia smirked as she shoved Xellos's head under the water and began to scrub vigorously at his head.

"Nice and clean, nice and clean, oh we mustn't forget behind the ears now should we Val?" Val's reply was to make a noise between a growl and a chuckle, assuming a baby dragon could chuckle. "I thought so too; glad to see we are of like minds honey." Filia smiled at her son as his wings flapped about happily. Xellos's hand then shot up and latched onto the wrist that held the scrubbing brush. Then with deadly slowness Xellos's head rose up from the water, his hair a tangled wet mess half covered in soap bubbles and only one of his piercing eyes opened as the other squinted to prevent the soap from getting in. "You, my dear Fi-chan, are in _so_ much trouble." Xellos said eerily as he raised himself to his full height. He snatched the scrubbing brush with his free hand, still keeping a firm hold on Filia's wrist as he looked between the stunned Filia and the _trying to look innocent_ baby Val, an evil smirk plain as day on his face. "Both of you; prepare to be scrubbed like you've never been scrubbed before!"

Lols, well I had originally intended to write more after this but I thought to just leave it be and post it, it just felt right. So what did you think? I hope I'm doing a good job of keeping you all on your toes ^_^.

I've actually noticed that my chapters are slowly starting to get longer and longer, so I'm going to ask now if that is a good thing for you guys or would you prefer for me to break them up a bit more? Up to you, whatever makes it easier, I'm fine with it either way. So please tell me what you think. If you like it, tell me, if you don't, tell me why if you can please, or even just leave a review saying "hi", I'm not picky, honest ^_^


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

'_Oh no, please not again.' Filia was back in the grey mist, on the verge of running as she desperately searched for a way out. "Cepheid, why is this happening to me?" Filia pleaded mournfully, wrapping her arms around her in an attempt to comfort herself. The out of the corner of her eye she noticed something that was never there before, it was a door. Surprised, Filia went to investigate. She stood in front of the door; it was a simple brown with a silver handle, but no peep-hole and no key hole. She moved to the side to see around it, but only saw empty space. It seemed to lead no where and there was nothing around to hold it up, it was just **there**. Standing back in front of the door Filia hesitantly raised her hand and placed it on the handle. Taking a deep breath she slowly turned the handle and opened the door. As she stepped through there was a brief flash of light and Filia was standing in a child's bedroom. The walls where a baby pink and had golden stars placed at random along its surface. There was a small bed with white covers in the corner and the floor was littered with dozens of different toys, ranging from stuffed dolls to small piles of toy building blocks. _

"_It's my old room." Filia said out loud as she looked around her childhood home. She then looked down at herself and gasped when she saw the little white dress with pink flowers she used to wear when she was small. She ran to the mirror she had in the corner and saw that she was in the body she had when she was the human equivalent of five. Her dress coming down to her shins of her little legs, long white socks and pink sandals and her favourite pink, blue and white stripped hair band in her hair, which only just came to her middle back._

_In the mirror she caught the reflection of something on the floor behind her, she turned around and there, sitting in the centre of her room on a small fluffy rug, where two small stuffed animals. One was a lavender coloured wolf, its pink tongue hanging out the side of its mouth, and a green dragon with over exaggerated yellow eyes. Little Filia knelt down near the toys and picked them both up before smiling brightly and hugging them to her. She then sat comfortably on the rug and began to play with the toys._

_Filia wasn't sure how long she sat there with her toys, when she heard a knock at her door and a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. "Filia sweetie, its mommy. Me and daddy need to talk to you, can we come in honey?"_

"_Come in mommy!" Filia said with a smile, still playing with her toys. The door opened and Filia's parents stepped in. her mother was in a yellow dress and had long pale hair that stopped at the small of her back and chocolate eyes. Her father stood a head taller than her mother with golden hair down to his shoulders and sky blue eyes and the robes of a high ranking dragon priest._

_Despite their entrance Filia continued to play with her toy wolf and dragon. It was a short while before her father spoke. "Filia, why are you playing with those toys?" her father asked._

"_Because I like them." She said with a shrug as if it was the most obvious answer in the world._

"_Sweetie, we need you to give us those toys." Filia's mother spoke in a light but serious tone._

_Filia paused in her play and looked up at her parents. "What? But why?" she asked, her tone hurt filled. _

"_Don't question us Filia, just do what your mother tells you and give her the toys." Her father snipped at her, his voice rising._

_Filia quickly jumped up, snatching her toys with her and clutching them to her chest. "But I don't want to. I like them and they're mine. Why do you want to take them from me?" Filia pleaded, her eyes beginning to burn with unshed tears._

"_Now Filia, don't be silly." Her mother said in a soothing tone as she knelt in front of her daughter, putting her hands softly on her shoulders. "Come on honey, just give us the silly toys and then we'll all go out to the park and pick some flowers, and maybe we can get some ice-cream while we're out, how does that sound honey?" she said with a warm smile, lightly stroking her thumbs on Filia's shoulders reassuringly. _

_Filia felt all her tension begin to melt away at her mothers' actions and comforting smile. What was the harm in giving her the toys, after all her mother did mention they could get ice-cream. Filia's clutch on the animals loosened. She looked at her mothers warm eyes and slowly started to hold her arms out. Filia's father smiled as did her mother. "That's a good girl Filia, well done." She said as she shifted to receive the toys._

_Filia was studying her mothers' eyes when she saw something flash through them. It was only for a second but she felt herself cringe internally at the look that passed through those eyes._

_Filia's own eyes snapped wide open and she snatched the toys out of her mothers grasp and held them even tighter to her chest. "NO! I wont give them to you, you can't make me!" Filia nearly shouted as she gave a stubborn glare at her parents._

_Suddenly the surroundings went dark, and so did her mothers expression. "You selfish little BRAT!" she grabbed Filia's shoulders and her grip began to tighten painfully. "Why can't you be like all the other good little children and do what you're told!" she shoved Filia back, making her stumble and fall to the floor as her mother towered over her with her father._

"_Mommy please, stop." Filia sobbed as she tried to back away from them._

"_It's time you got what you deserve Filia. If you had just listened to us and did what we told you this would never have happened." Her father said sternly. _

"_But I don't understa-hand, why are you do-hing this? Why do you want to ta-hake them from me-he?" Filia was openly crying now, her eyes going red from her tears._

"_Oh would you stop whining and just give me that" her mother snapped and reached out to grab the stuffed dragon from her. But as her hand got close to the toy its mouth suddenly opened and snapped down on her hand, digging its surprisingly sharp teeth into her flesh. "YAAaaaah!" her mother cried as she snatched her hand back and clutched in her other hand, black blood dripping from between her fingers. The green dragon growled at the parents, spreading its wings and baring its bloody teeth in malice. "Why you little-"_

"_please don't hurt us, just leave us alone, please mommy" Filia begged, still not relinquishing her hold on the toys, even though one of them did have blood dripping from its mouth, she just knew it wouldn't hurt her._

"_Silence! You are no daughter of mine!" her mother then spat at the ground in front of her._

_Filia felt as if her heart had just been ripped from her chest, leaving her cold and in agony. "Mommy, daddy…" Filia barely whispered past her sobs._

"_Filia, not only have you betrayed your race, you have betrayed us as well. You deserve everything that is coming to you." her father growled, his eyes stone cold, his voice cut through her like sharp icicles. The pair began to advance on her, everything else around them going black as their features shifted and warped to reveal two ugly beasts with rows of sharp jagged teeth, and eyes the colour of blood._

_Filia fell to her knees, clutching the toys to her, her eyes tightly shut, wishing for it all to stop, for them to just get it over with and the pain she felt._

_They never even got to touch her before her purple wolf came to life and transformed, growing in size and appearing as the violet wolf that had saved her before. He stood over the little Filia, crouching low to her so his chest blanketed her and the still snarling green dragon. The wolf bared its teeth and growled so low and deadly that the ghastly things that were Filia's parents stopped cold._

_The 'father' growled back. "You cannot protect her forever beast priest. Sooner or later you will let your guard down, and the second you do she will be lost, and so shall you along with her." he snarled._

_The wolf growled again and raised his head in a loud, angry howl. The two figures began to writher in agony, their bodies starting to fade away. The wolf howled again, and more of them began to disappear, leaving nothing of them but their shadows. One long, final howl drove the shadows away, banishing them into nothingness, at least for now._

_The little Filia was still curled up on the ground, her eyes clamped shut with the occasional sob wracking her small frame. The wolf bent head down to the girl, a small comforting growl coming from his chest as he nuzzled his big nose on her small head. He finally coaxed her to look up at him until their eyes met. The wolfs eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed that Filia's usually youthful bright eyes, that followed her even into adulthood, were missing their usual little sparkle. Her eyes were red from crying and almost lifeless as they stared tiredly at the wolf._

_They where back in the mist, Filia was her older self again, she was still on her knees with the wolf standing in front of her, the green dragon no longer in sight, and her eyes containing the same lifelessness as before. "Xellos," Filia's voice was almost pleading. "I'm not sure how much longer I can go on for." Tears started to slowly trickle unbidden down her face, "Xellos; I'm dying"_

Xellos's eyes snapped open as he sat up from his spot against the wall of his study, eyes darting around the room before he relaxed and leaned back against the wall, bringing his staff from its post against his shoulder and lying it in his lap, stroking the orb at its tip that was quickly fading from a bright blue glow to its usual blood hue.

"Hmm, how troublesome." Xellos said to himself as he contemplated the dream he shared with Filia. 'There is definitely more to those dreams than what meets the eye, the real question is what, and why?'

But first, and just as important, he was going to have to figure out the whom. Xellos uncrossed his legs and stood up from his resting place, time to go do some dragon hunting, he phased out without a word.

Little Val's eyes slowly fluttered open as he awoke to a new day. Peering over the pile of cushions that surrounded him in his nest he saw his mother, her eyes were still closed and her chest rose and fell with each gentle breath. Giving a tiny squeak of a yawn the hatchling rose and stretched out like a cat, gently digging his claws into the soft bedding. Now firmly awake the young dragon looked around the room for something to do until his mother woke up. He heard a creek and whipped his head to the sound. The door to the bedroom slowly opened, but when Val peered his head around he couldn't see anyone. Wanting to investigate, Val got up and climbed his way out of his make-shift nest and jumped down to the floor, the soft carpet cushioning his fall and muffling the sound. He trotted to the door and looked around, no one was in sight. He lifted his head up and sniffed the air, locating a scent he took of down the hall, quickly vanishing from sight.

Filia slowly and reluctantly opened her eyes. She did not wish to wake up, feeling as emotionally and physically drained as she did, she could have sworn she never even went to sleep she was so tired. But the light that managed to stream through the only gap in the curtains reminded her that her son would be awake soon if he wasn't already, and would want his morning feed soon. She stretched her arms above her head with a yawn and turned her head toward the empty nest beside her; wait a second…_empty!_ Filia blinked and sat up straight, frantically searching the cushions and the rest of the bed, her heart beating so erratically she thought it would jump out of her chest. She looked up to the open door and both she and her heart stopped cold. Filia could feel her fear snaking up her spine like icy tendrils and coiling around her chest. With swiftness she didn't even know she had she leapt from the bed, not caring that she was only clad in her light pink night dress, and sprinted on her bare feet and into the deserted hall, her head darting from left to right trying to spot her lost hatchling. 'Oh god oh god please no please no please Val where are you?'

"Wow no wonder Xellos keeps you around" a voice from above her had her nearly leaping out of her skin with a shriek as she spotted the floating figure of Kerry above the door frame, relaxed as if she were lying on an invisible couch, " your adrenalin and fear have a rather exotic spice to them." She spoke as if she were testing the quality of a red wine.

With a small jump Filia grabbed a fistful of the monsters cape were it clasped at the front and brought her face nose-to-nose with her own. Her furious blue orbs shooting daggers into the startled pink eyes of the girl. "WHERE IS HE!" Filia's aura was flaring and her fangs more elongated as she roared in the monsters face, if she had the physical capability Kerry knew she would have been sweating profusely by this point.

"Whoa whoa, c-calm down goldie, where's who?" Kerry managed to stutter before Filia roughly shook her with the grip she had on her cape, snarling at her.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN AND TELL ME WHERE MY BABY IS!" Filia snapped, her eyes promising bloody murder if she didn't get the right answer.

"O-Oh! You mean the mini black dragon? Yeah I saw him not too long ago."

Filia roared deeply and furiously in her face. "WHERE!"

"H-He was scuttling happily towards the south wing last I seen of him, but don't worry, he's being watched b-" Kerry didn't get a chance to finish before Filia had released her and started off down the hall, combining sprinting and the occasional short teleportation until she disappeared from sight.

Kerry gave a few startled blinks before straightening herself out. "Well, I guess I better go and look out for her." but before she could start to pursue the fleeing gold she halted in her steps, a far away look in her eyes. She then narrowed her eyes in what looked like confusion "Uh are you sure about this one?" she said to the empty are in question. She then gave a startled look and raised her hands in surrender with a hesitant smile "Ok ok if you insist, sheesh no need to get you tail in a knot." She sighed and clasped her hands behind her head, steadily walking in the opposite direction from Filia down the hall.

Filia re-appeared in the junction where all four wings connected. Pausing to catch her breath she looked down the hall leading to the south wing. At that moment Filia almost wished that she had some of Xellos's abilities, mostly were he doesn't have to see where he is going to teleport. Before now Filia never had a problem with that, it was a safe and easy way of getting from point A to point B without ripping big holes in the astral plane, but now…

Filia resisted the urge to sigh in defeat, if she didn't need to see where she was going she could have been at her sons side in an instant, but she dare not even attempt it, or she might end up inside a stone wall, or worse…Taking a deep breath to strengthen her resolve she squared her shoulders and proceeded down the south wing with a new found determination.

A short while later she noticed that instead of the hard floor she was walking on, her feet now came into contact with relatively soft grass. There were very few torches in her area, but when she peered ahead in the distance, she began to see patches of light coming in from what she assumed to be windows. Moving closer she saw trees, bushes, ferns and anything else the light managed to catch. Although she wouldn't quite consider it a forest at this point, the indoor greenery was still rather remarkable. If she didn't feel so pressed for time in searching for Val, Filia felt she might have enjoyed a nice picnic in here under one of the apple trees across from one of the many large pane-less windows. Pulling herself away from her daydreams Filia continued her search, keeping all her senses alert for the tiniest indication that Val was nearby. At this point she decided against teleporting all together, otherwise she could end up missing any signs of her son, a decision that proved wise when she noticed fresh tracks in the ground. She knelt down and lightly fingered the edges of the footprints. Some of them she recognised as Val's with his four long toes with a very slight impression of punctures from his tiny claws. But what worried Filia were the other tracks that accompanied her sons. They all resembled paw marks from some four legged creature. Now Filia was never an expert on tracking, but her gut instincts told her that these were wolf tracks, ranging from tiny ones belonging to small cubs and prints the size of her outstretched hand of the much (very much) larger pack members.

"Oh Cepheid I pray to you, please don't let them find him before me." Filia shuddered to think what might befall her son if he were to face a pack of wolves on his own. Getting back on her feet she started off again, this time at a gentle run as she followed the trail left behind by her son, praying to every higher being she knew that Val was safe. As she ran her surroundings gradually began to change. She noticed a lot more trees were growing and the hall itself was getting larger and wider. The grass was getting longer and she tripped once on an exposed root, falling to her knees and grazing her arms on the ground, only to get back up and continue running. The available light was becoming sparse as the forest grew dense, devouring the sunlight hungrily and casting eerie shadows along the ground, making the trail she was following harder to see.

Suddenly Filia stopped. She could have sworn she heard something in the bushes beside her. A twig snapped behind her and she darted around to spot whatever was there, and when she did she quickly wished that she hadn't. Standing there were two wolves blocking the way she had come, both had soft brown coats and yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the forest gloom. Then from either side of her came two more wolves, all of them staring her down and growling low in their throats. Filia gulped as panic started to back into her chest. She took two steps back when she heard another growl from behind her, turning her head she saw another wolf, this one with black fur; it regarded Filia for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, before it raised its head and growled out a single word "Follow", and then turned its back on her, starting back down the path. Looking around and realising she had no other choice, seeing as the other wolves were blocking her only other escape routes, she obeyed and timidly followed the black wolf, its fellow kin walking with her to make sure she didn't get any silly ideas of running away. A short while later the black wolf changed course and started walking of the small trail they were following and headed through the thick trees. Filia hesitated, but with a persistent nudge to her leg from a wolf she managed to get her feet moving and quickly walked after the wolf, trying to stay close enough not to get lost, but still far enough for comforts sake.

The wolf then stepped out of the foliage and into a clearing, followed by a very nervous Filia as her eyes swivelled around, taking notes of her surroundings. She saw more wolves wandering around the clearing; some stopping to stare at her while others who were lying down raised their heads to look. To one side of the clearing Filia spotted movement and looked to find a small gathering of pups running around and jumping on each other. Then there was a tiny growl and Val popped out of a nearby bush to pounce on a few of the pups, playfully biting ones ear before its kin joined the fray and tackled the baby dragon, knocking them all over as they tussled on the ground.

"Val!" Filia exclaimed as she quickly made her way to her baby. Val's head popped up at his mothers' voice, with a happy squeak he untangled himself from the mound of pups and happily trotted to his mother. Filia fell to her knees and scooped young Val up and held him close to her chest as he cheerfully nuzzled her neck and shoulder in greeting. Filia breathed a sigh of relief that he was ok and gave him one more squeeze before she held him at arms length and gave him her best 'you're in so much trouble' face (she had been working on that face for a while now, the trick is to not cave at the sight of the kicked puppy look the baby ancient would give in response). "Val, don't you ever, EVER, go off on your own like that again, EVER! Do you have any idea how worried sick I was?" Filia scolded the hatchling. Val dropped his head down and tucked his tail between his legs. His wings pressed themselves firmly to his sides and the very tip of his tail slowly started to curl around his mothers' wrist, his yellow eyes that should not look that adorable gazed up at her pleadingly in apology as he let out a small whimper at his mothers temper. All of these small things combined into one lovable baby dragon quickly began to destroy all of Filia's defences before she finally caved.

"Oh Val I'm so sorry, mummy didn't mean yell, you just scared mummy that's all." Filia brought the dragon back to her chest in a soothing hug as she gently stroked the back of his long neck. "It's ok, everything is going to be alright honey, just don't scare mummy like that again, ok?" Val gave a little growl of agreement and began to nuzzle her shoulder again.

"Are you quite done with your little reunion? I'm getting rather bored with all this coddling." Filia's blood ran cold at the steely voice. She had never heard this voice before, but she could practically feel the power and authority in its tone crash through her in waves. She slowly turned her head to the side and felt her adrenalin go into overdrive when she saw long tanned legs, a white skirt resting on the thighs, smooth bare stomach, a loose white top covering a modest chest with strands of long golden hair tumbling around bare shoulders and piercing red eyes just shy of matching that of ruby eye himself. The woman brought a long smoke to her ruby lips and took a leisurely drag from her reclined position atop a boulder before blowing a small cloud into the air, eyes never leaving the frozen gold that sat before her.

"Now, I am going to forget your rudeness of not acknowledging my presence for now, and inform you that your worries where unfounded. The little one was perfectly safe in my care and the care of my wolves." The woman gestured with her free hand the gathering of said wolves in the clearing, golden bracelets clinking with the movement.

"A-and w-who may I ask, are y-you?" Filia desperately tried to keep her voice steady, having a rough idea who this woman was, but praying to all that would listen that she was wrong.

The woman raised an elegant brow at the gold. "You mean you don't recognise me? Huh, Xellos did say you can be rather naïve at times, but I was unaware that it was to this extent." She took another drag of her cigarette. "I am most commonly known as Beastmaster, but since we're practically family, you can call me Zelas, for now at least."

There was a very audible gulp as Filia tried to steady her shaking hands. "Beastmaster Zelas, as in Xellos's mistress Zelas?"

"Unless you know of any others who bear the same name, and if you do please inform me, I want a head start at hunting the unworthy creature." Zelas smirked, a brief flicker of light reflecting of long blood red nails.

"N-nono, I w-was just, surprised to be meeting you so soon." Filia said hurriedly as she put Val down beside her and attempted to dust off some of the dirt of her dress. 'How was I unable to sense her? Beastmaster being such a powerful monster lord I should have felt her presence long before I even got to this clearing. And here I am in my nightdress, covered in dirt and making a complete spectacle of myself. If first impressions really are everything then I've effectively shot mine into the dung-heap. Where's Xellos when you actually need him? Then again knowing Xellos he would probably find some way to make this whole thing a thousand times worse, not that it could get much worse.'

Zelas raised an eyebrow at the gold. "My dear, you have been living in my castle for a week by this point, and you still think it was too soon for me to say hello. No wonder the dragons took so long to make decisions, it would take weeks for them to even greet each other, let alone sit down and have an intellectual discussion."

'It just got worse, I see where Xellos gets his habit of belittling dragons from' Filia silently seethed as Zelas twirled her free hand in the air before a simple white wooden chair with a cushion appeared by the bolder where Zelas sat.

"Take a seat my dear, or are you quite comfortable there on the ground?" Zelas asked Filia, motioning towards her unmoving form.

"Oh, thank you Ma-am." Filia replied in surprise as she rose from her position and sat down in the offered chair.

"Now child, I will ask that you not call me Ma-am, it sounds so old fashioned, call me Zelas."

"Right, of course…Zelas" Filia replied 'I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.'

…..

Ok….small cliffy but I'll be truthful with you, I got to this bit and I know what I want to write but…I hit a big writer's block and couldn't get the words onto the page. So I figured for now I'll just post this and if I get some new reviews it might help to clear the blockage so to say ^_^. Sorry for the long delay though, life is getting kinda…intense with exams and family issues and stuff so yeah. Just letting you know that I'm still alive and writing, it just will probably take a while. In the meantime read and enjoy, till next time ^_^


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